HONG KONG (Reuters) – China accused the United States of “gangster logic” on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump ordered the end of Hong Kong’s special status under US law in response to the imposition of Beijing of a new security legislation in the territory.
The Beijing Liaison Office in the Asian financial center said the move would only harm the interests of the United States and have little impact on Hong Kong.
“Unreasonable meddling and shameless threats from the United States are typical gangster logic and bullying behavior,” the office said in a statement.
“No external force can block China’s determination and confidence to maintain national sovereignty and security for Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability.”
The security law imposed by Beijing punishes what China defines in general terms as subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.
Critics of the law fear it will crush the extensive freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, while supporters say it will bring stability to the city after a year of sometimes violent anti-government protests.
Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to end preferential economic treatment for Hong Kong, allowing him to impose visa sanctions and restrictions on Chinese officials and financial institutions involved in enforcing the law.
China has threatened to impose retaliatory sanctions on its own and summoned the United States ambassador to protest.
The Hong Kong government said on Wednesday it would support any action Beijing chooses to take against the United States.
“It is hypocritical for the United States to introduce measures to attack China by creating problems in (Hong Kong) under the guise of human rights, democracy and autonomy for its own political considerations,” the Beijing-backed territory government said in a statement. .
Four members of a pro-establishment party, the Hong Kong Democratic Alliance for Improvement and Progress, organized a protest at the United States consulate on Thursday demanding that the United States “stop interfering in Chinese internal affairs.”
Trump has not ruled out sanctions against senior Chinese officials to punish China for its handling of Hong Kong, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council said on Wednesday.
Among the names promoted by some Chinese hawks is Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who has supported the implementation of the Beijing security law, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Separately, Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Nathan Law said on Wednesday he feels safe in London, but described the extraterritorial scope of China’s imposed national security laws as “terrifying” and urged Britain to do more to help.
Reports from Farah Master, Jessie Pang, Carol Mang, and Yanni Chow; Written by Farah Master; Michael Perry and Stephen Coates Edition
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