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23 November 2019

Why Hong Kong’s ‘Special Status’ in the U.S. Is Touchy Territory

By Iain Marlow and Daniel Flatley

The U.S. Congress is making a loud statement in support of Hong Kong democracy protesters, to the dismay of China’s leaders. Legislation passed by the House and Senate with only a single dissenting vote would amend the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, under which the U.S. treats Hong Kong differently than the mainland in trade, commerce and other areas. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill into law. Rescinding Hong Kong’s “special status” would effectively mean treating the Asian financial hub no differently than any other Chinese city, a seismic shift.

1. Is the special status being rescinded?

Congress isn’t going that far, and Trump, who has always had the power to suspend it with an executive order, has said nothing to suggest that’s on the table. Instead, the measure adopted by Congress would require the U.S. secretary of state to certify -- as part of an annual report report to Congress -- whether Hong Kong remains “sufficiently autonomous” from Beijing to justify its unique treatment under U.S. law. That includes assessing the degree to which Hong Kong’s autonomy had been eroded by the government of China. (Hong Kong is part of China but has a different legal and economic system, a holdover from its time as a British colony.) The proposed law would also sanction officials deemed responsible for human rights abuses and undermining the city’s autonomy.

2. What would losing that status mean for Hong Kong?

An estimated $38 billion in trade between Hong Kong and the U.S. could be jeopardized. “Longer term, people might have a second thought about raising money or doing business in Hong Kong,” said Kevin Lai, chief economist for Asia excluding Japan at Daiwa Capital Markets. It would be “the nuclear option” and “the beginning of the death of Hong Kong as we know it,” said Steve Tsang, director of the University of London’s SOAS China Institute.

3. What about for the U.S.?

It has its own reasons for not rocking the boat too much. Hong Kong, the only semi-democratic jurisdiction under Chinese rule, offers U.S. companies a relatively safe way to access the Chinese market and employs a U.S. dollar peg, linking it with the American financial system. According to the Congressional Research Service, the largest U.S. trade surplus in 2018 was with Hong Kong — $31.1 billion. Some 290 U.S. companies had their regional headquarters in the city that year and another 434 had regional offices, it said. Hong Kong’s first justice minister after the handover to China in 1997, Elsie Leung, told the South China Morning Post that any damage would be mutual: “We are not just getting the benefits – it’s a free-trade arrangement which is good for both sides.”

4. And more broadly?

Enacting the law would introduce more uncertainty into the relationship between the U.S. and China, strained by an ongoing trade war, the Hong Kong protests and other issues. In addition to the annual review of Hong Kong’s trading status, the measure would require the president to freeze U.S.-based assets of, and deny entry to the U.S. by, any individuals found responsible for abducting and torturing human rights activists in Hong Kong. Such sanctions could come sooner than a suspension of the trading status. If it were to happen, it would obviously complicate things further.

5. How autonomous is Hong Kong?

When Britain handed Hong Kong back to China, the Chinese government pledged that the city would have a “high degree of autonomy” in its legal and economic affairs for 50 years, under an arrangement known as “one country, two systems.” The 2019 U.S. report on conditions in Hong Kong said the city’s autonomy was “sufficient -- although diminished.” After the protests erupted in June, the State Department said that “continued erosion” of Hong Kong’s autonomy put its “long-established status in international affairs” at risk.

6. How has China responded?

With a threat to retaliate, although it hasn’t said how. Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang warned U.S. lawmakers to stop meddling in China’s internal affairs “before falling off the edge of the cliff” and accused them of disregarding the “vile behavior” of “violent radicals.” The official Xinhua News Agency has used stronger language, accusing U.S. lawmakers of “smearing China to score cheap political gains as usual.” It blasted as “groundless” accusations about the loss of freedom or human rights issues in Hong Kong. It also noted that the 2018 Human Freedom Index compiled by the Fraser Institute, a Vancouver-based think tank, ranked Hong Kong at No. 3, way ahead of the U.S. at No. 17.

7. And Hong Kong?

The city’s leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, has said it would be “totally unacceptable” for foreign legislatures to interfere in Hong Kong’s internal affairs, and that any sanctions would only complicate the problems in the city. (Lam was selected in 2017 by a committee of 1,200 political insiders overwhelmingly loyal to the Chinese government.) She has sought to reassure investors that the city still adheres to the rule of law and has an independent judiciary. She also has defended police actions.

8. Is this what the protesters have been seeking?

As a largely leaderless movement, the Hong Kong protests have made no official request for international assistance. But some prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists including Joshua Wong have testified in Washington in favor of the bill, seeking to put pressure on China. On the streets of Hong Kong, some protesters have made clear their interest in U.S. support by waving American flags, singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and calling on Trump to “liberate” Hong Kong. But Trump has been much quieter about Hong Kong than he has about China’s trade practices, for instance. Trump even congratulated China on its 70th anniversary under Communist rule.

--With assistance from Josh Wingrove and Alfred Liu.

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