Trump issues tough response to China's treatment of Hong Kong

[webfact]

Trump issues tough response to China's treatment of Hong Kong

By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland

 

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 14, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump, hardening his stance on China as he struggles to contain the coronavirus, said on Tuesday he signed legislation and an executive order to hold China accountable for the "oppressive" national security law it imposed on Hong Kong.

 

Trump, acting on a Tuesday deadline, signed a bill approved by the U.S. Congress to penalize banks doing business with Chinese officials who implement Beijing’s new national security law on Hong Kong.

 

He said he also signed an executive order aimed at furthering punishing China for what he called its "oppressive actions" against Hong Kong.

 

It will end the preferential trade treatment Hong Kong has received for years - "no special privileges, no special economic treatment and no export of sensitive technologies," Trump told a news conference.

 

"Hong Kong will now be treated the same as mainland China," he said.

 

According to a White House fact sheet, the executive order includes revoking special treatment for Hong Kong passport holders.

 

Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had lunch together at the White House on Tuesday, have blamed China for the spread of the coronavirus pandemic - which China denies - and have criticized Beijing for its Hong Kong crackdown.

 

The former British colony was returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with a law protecting freedoms of speech, assembly and the press until 2047.

 

The legislation Trump signed calls for sanctions on Chinese officials and others who help violate Hong Kong’s autonomy, and financial institutions that do business with those found to have participated in any crackdown on the city.

 

Trump faces a tough battle for re-election on Nov. 3 and his handling of the pandemic has drawn lukewarm support from Americans. Trump has blamed China for not doing enough to stop the spread of the virus.

 

"Make no mistake. We hold China fully responsible for concealing the virus and unleashing it upon the world. They could have stopped it, they should have stopped it. It would have been very easy to do at the source, when it happened," he said.

 

In his opening statement in the Rose Garden, Trump took aim at his Democratic rival in the election, former Vice President Joe Biden. Both candidates are constrained from active campaigning by the virus.

 

Pompeo was sharply critical on Monday of China's military buildup in the South China Sea, saying Beijing had offered no coherent legal basis for its ambitions there and that it had been bullying its neighbors.

 

“The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire,” Pompeo said.

 

Trump's national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, is in Paris this week for talks with European officials about China and Chinese telecom firm Huawei Technologies Co Ltd <HWT.UL>, amid Western concerns that Huawei's technology poses a threat to national security.

 

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Steve Holland; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom, Alexandra Alper, Patricia Zengerle, Eric Beech and Makini Brice; Editing by Leslie Adler and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-07-15

 

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[JCauto]

Trump discarded decades of carefully constructed leverage to counter-balance China in order to gain a temporary soundbite and benefit when he went after protesters and encouraged police violence. I posted at that time that Hong Kong was now lost. Now it's too late, and any "tough guy" posturing will rightfully be chortled at in the Party Hall in Beijing.

 

So much winning.

[twocatsmac]

5 minutes ago, JCauto said:

Trump discarded decades of carefully constructed leverage to counter-balance China in order to gain a temporary soundbite and benefit when he went after protesters and encouraged police violence. I posted at that time that Hong Kong was now lost. Now it's too late, and any "tough guy" posturing will rightfully be chortled at in the Party Hall in Beijing.

 

So much winning.

They Chinese won’t be “chortling” at all.

They’re set to lose billions and other countries will follow suit. The Chinese love money and influence above all, this could be the beginning of the end I hope.

[Eric Loh]

Hong Kong only 3% of GDP. Not much overall damage. Will hurt the 9,000 odd foreign companies including 1,300 US companies operating in Hong Kong. Hong Kong will probably de-pegged from the US dollar and the financial sectors and stock market will use RMB; further weakened the global demand for dollar. Wrong move. 

[Proboscis]

18 minutes ago, twocatsmac said:

They Chinese won’t be “chortling” at all.

They’re set to lose billions and other countries will follow suit. The Chinese love money and influence above all, this could be the beginning of the end I hope.

The only leverage that the USA has versus China is that much less of US GDP is traded whereas China is very dependent on trade. That said, while the USA is beating up on Huawei, they forget that most components for Apple phones are made in China.

 

Besides, their great plan to cut trade with Hong Kong will only hurt the very people who they claim to want to help. If ever there was an example of Ronald Reagan's dictum of a comming calamity, "I am from the government and I am here to help," this is it!

 

Poor poor people of Hong Kong. Now that Xi Jinping has taken away your freedoms of speech and other freedoms, here comes Donald Trump taking away your wealth and economic welfare.

[car720]

37 minutes ago, JCauto said:

chortled at in the Party Hall in Beijing.

precisely.  China doesn't rattle sabres.  They just sneak ahead with what they want.

[twocatsmac]

27 minutes ago, Proboscis said:

The only leverage that the USA has versus China is that much less of US GDP is traded whereas China is very dependent on trade. That said, while the USA is beating up on Huawei, they forget that most components for Apple phones are made in China.

 

Besides, their great plan to cut trade with Hong Kong will only hurt the very people who they claim to want to help. If ever there was an example of Ronald Reagan's dictum of a comming calamity, "I am from the government and I am here to help," this is it!

 

Poor poor people of Hong Kong. Now that Xi Jinping has taken away your freedoms of speech and other freedoms, here comes Donald Trump taking away your wealth and economic welfare.

Pray tell, whose hand will be inside the puppet called Hong Kong? 

 

The fact China has responded immediately with threats of retaliation shows they’re seriously concerned.

Edited July 15, 2020 by twocatsmac

[nobodysfriend]

China considers itself as a " superpower " , they know exactly that many nations business depends on their stuff ...

They are a totalitarian and autocratic regime with a plan to expand their territory as much as possible while other Nations are occupied with the effects of the Coronavirus . They do not hesitate to get whatever they want now . 

I am not a Trump fan , but , just let them do is no solution .

Somebody needs to stop at least their territorial expansion plans . It seems they learned a lot from the " Israeli way " of doing things ... create some facts first , ( the islands in the south china sea ) , and than pretend that historically it is their territory ...

Tibet , for example , is clearly an invaded country , that before was independent and now it is a part of China ...

 

They consider everything within the red dotted line as their territory , basically all of the south china sea . Not caring about Vietnam , Malaysia , Philippines, and Indonesia .

 

United States rejected China’s claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea as “completely unlawful"

declaring China’s claims illegal opened the way for a tougher U.S. response, such as through sanctions, and could also lead to more U.S. naval presence operations.

“Any move by (China) to physically occupy, reclaim or militarize Scarborough Shoal would be a dangerous move ... and would have lasting and severe consequences for (China’s)relationship with the United States, as well as the entire region,”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-southchinasea-stilwell/u-s-says-room-for-sanctions-in-response-to-china-in-south-china-sea-idUSKCN24F1TB

 

Edited July 15, 2020 by nobodysfriend

[joecoolfrog]

7 hours ago, twocatsmac said:

They Chinese won’t be “chortling” at all.

They’re set to lose billions and other countries will follow suit. The Chinese love money and influence above all, this could be the beginning of the end I hope.

I have no problem with sanctions against China over Hong Kong. However the Beijing overlords will still be in power next year , Trump will not.

He grows more childish by the day , if the virus is so easy to control why is the USA overun by it ?

[car720]

18 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

China considers itself as a " superpower " , they know exactly that many nations business depends on their stuff ...

They are a totalitarian and autocratic regime with a plan to expand their territory as much as possible while other Nations are occupied with the effects of the Coronavirus . They do not hesitate to get whatever they want now . 

I am not a Trump fan , but , just let them do is no solution .

Somebody needs to stop at least their territorial expansion plans . It seems they learned a lot from the " Israeli way " of doing things ... create some facts first , ( the islands in the south china sea ) , and than pretend that historically it is their territory ...

Tibet , for example , is clearly an invaded country , that before was independent and now it is a part of China ...

 

They consider everything within the red dotted line as their territory , basically all of the south china sea . Not caring about Vietnam , Malaysia , Philippines, and Indonesia .

 

United States rejected China’s claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea as “completely unlawful"

declaring China’s claims illegal opened the way for a tougher U.S. response, such as through sanctions, and could also lead to more U.S. naval presence operations.

“Any move by (China) to physically occupy, reclaim or militarize Scarborough Shoal would be a dangerous move ... and would have lasting and severe consequences for (China’s)relationship with the United States, as well as the entire region,”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-southchinasea-stilwell/u-s-says-room-for-sanctions-in-response-to-china-in-south-china-sea-idUSKCN24F1TB

 

My Chinese wife tells me that what the world should be doing is targeting the CCP members, both financially and with bullets.

[sscc]

24 minutes ago, car720 said:

My Chinese wife tells me that what the world should be doing is targeting the CCP members, both financially and with bullets.

 

CCP members to mainland Chinese population is in ratio of approximately  1 to 17.  

Most don't even know about it. 

 

You wife and yourself have one opinion on 1 out of 17 Chinese and another opinion on other 16 ?

 

 

 

 

 

[samran]

21 hours ago, JCauto said:

Trump discarded decades of carefully constructed leverage to counter-balance China in order to gain a temporary soundbite and benefit when he went after protesters and encouraged police violence. I posted at that time that Hong Kong was now lost. Now it's too late, and any "tough guy" posturing will rightfully be chortled at in the Party Hall in Beijing.

 

So much winning.

I'm no Trump fan, but this is all China's doing.

 

The 'constructed leverage' you speak of has simply seen Chinese domination of the south china sea reach continual heights and concentration camps built in western china. The west was willing to turn a blind eye as long as they could sell stuff/outsource stuff to China and bring in the rivers of money that went with that.

 

My only criticism of Trump on HK is that he was a little late to the party, partly because I think, he would be hard put to actually find HK on a map.

 

So where we are now however is China managing an even more positions on HK than the Karma Sutra. On one hand it passes laws that puts HK even more firmly under Beijing's control. On the other it decries the fact for the US removing privileges for HK which basically recognises that fact it is under stronger Beijing control. You couldn't make this stuff up.

Edited July 16, 2020 by samran

[sscc]

20 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Hong Kong only 3% of GDP. Not much overall damage. Will hurt the 9,000 odd foreign companies including 1,300 US companies operating in Hong Kong. Hong Kong will probably de-pegged from the US dollar and the financial sectors and stock market will use RMB; further weakened the global demand for dollar. Wrong move. 

 

 

Regardless of this new Security Law and whatever consequence,  the trend will continue as it has been for year/decade :

Mainland China is on the way up  ;  Hong Kong is on the way down. 

 

Regarding the currency,  HKD will continue to peg with USD at 7.7-7.8 HKD to $1 USD  in the near future.  However,  USD is going de-value and on the way down in the months ahead,  so HKD is going down hand-in-hand with USD.  

 

De-pegging currency exchange rate is VERY BIG issue whether it is good or bad move.  No way it is going to happen in a year or two and near future.

 

 

  

 

 

[Eric Loh]

19 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

China considers itself as a " superpower " , they know exactly that many nations business depends on their stuff ...

They are a totalitarian and autocratic regime with a plan to expand their territory as much as possible while other Nations are occupied with the effects of the Coronavirus . They do not hesitate to get whatever they want now . 

I am not a Trump fan , but , just let them do is no solution .

Somebody needs to stop at least their territorial expansion plans . It seems they learned a lot from the " Israeli way " of doing things ... create some facts first , ( the islands in the south china sea ) , and than pretend that historically it is their territory ...

Tibet , for example , is clearly an invaded country , that before was independent and now it is a part of China ...

 

They consider everything within the red dotted line as their territory , basically all of the south china sea . Not caring about Vietnam , Malaysia , Philippines, and Indonesia .

 

United States rejected China’s claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea as “completely unlawful"

declaring China’s claims illegal opened the way for a tougher U.S. response, such as through sanctions, and could also lead to more U.S. naval presence operations.

“Any move by (China) to physically occupy, reclaim or militarize Scarborough Shoal would be a dangerous move ... and would have lasting and severe consequences for (China’s)relationship with the United States, as well as the entire region,”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-southchinasea-stilwell/u-s-says-room-for-sanctions-in-response-to-china-in-south-china-sea-idUSKCN24F1TB

 

The South China Sea was peaceful and all competing parties which include China, Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia were abiding to the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea signed in 2002. The 10 principles in that declaration were committed by all parties and there were joint participation in fisheries, environment etc. China prefer to resolve any disputes peacefully with the individual claimants on a bilateral basis. Trump's administration messed things up and negate the previous Obama's commitment to refrain from taking sides. Trump is simply hatching up the tension with China for his base and his re-election. 

[Eric Loh]

8 minutes ago, sscc said:

 

 

Regardless of this new Security Law and whatever consequence,  the trend will continue as it has been for year/decade :

Mainland China is on the way up  ;  Hong Kong is on the way down. 

 

Regarding the currency,  HKD will continue to peg with USD at 7.7-7.8 HKD to $1 USD  in the near future.  However,  USD is going de-value and on the way down in the months ahead,  so HKD is going down hand-in-hand with USD.  

 

De-pegging currency exchange rate is VERY BIG issue whether it is good or bad move.  No way it is going to happen in a year or two and near future.

 

 

  

 

 

Points taken. China is creating free ports like in Hainan which will severely challenged Hong Kong trading status. It will still maintain its financial status but eroding fast with Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen likely to replace that status. As for the peg, agree with you that it will be hard but there is a fear that Trump may limit Hong Kong banks' access to USD thus putting an end to the peg. I believed that idiot may resort to this nuclear option to appease his base. 

[Logosone]

Excellent news for the Euro. Hong Kong has been eyeing a peg to the Euro instead of the USD for some time.

 

"Is a HKD move to the EUR from the USD feasible? Sure it is – and if the errant behaviour of Mr Trump continues, it may well become a necessity."

 

https://www.asiatimesfinancial.com/a-hong-kong-dollar-peg-to-the-euro-instead-of-the-trump-dollar

[sscc]

For those discussion about South China sea in this thread,   From China standpoint,  

 

Hong Kong is one issue.

 

Taiwan is one issue 

 

South China Sea is one issue. 

 

North Korea is one issue --  China had almost lost out in 2017,  that was before the very first Kim-Xi

meeting in late March 2018. 

 

and blah, blah, blah. 

 

Each of these involve different players, historical background, and sets of parameters.  

Of course USA influence is the big, big factor.   

 

 

 

[dimitriv]

37 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

China prefer to resolve any disputes peacefully with the individual claimants on a bilateral basis.

 

As long as they stay out of the area and accept Chinese aggression. Yes.

I am really wondering...  Everybody knows the truth. Do you really think someone will believe your distorted vision?

 

China showed it's true face, we all saw it. No excuse anymore to defend these criminals.

 

Edited July 16, 2020 by dimitriv

[dimitriv]

22 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Hong Kong only 3% of GDP. Not much overall damage.

 

You miss an important thing,  Reputation.

 

If you would ask about China in my home country 1 year ago...  People would say: Nice country.

 

If you ask people now they will talk about concentration camps, military aggression, lies, perverting the truth (what you do too). They see China as a threat. This will not only have consequences for China, but also for Chinese people living abroad. To give a simple example; Chinese restaurants in my home country complain that people order less, and that they loose clients. China is infected. It is not something you want to be associated with.

 

I for myself now check packages, if it is produced in China I try to find an alternative. In Europe they are planning to take production back to the EU. Huawei is banned by some countries etc.

 

The damage is much bigger than you know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sscc]

21 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

Points taken. China is creating free ports like in Hainan which will severely challenged Hong Kong trading status. It will still maintain its financial status but eroding fast with Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen likely to replace that status. As for the peg, agree with you that it will be hard but there is a fear that Trump may limit Hong Kong banks' access to USD thus putting an end to the peg. I believed that idiot may resort to this nuclear option to appease his base. 

 

 

Hong Kong problem is rather complicated,  so is the 'One Country, Two Systems'  set-up for both

China-Hong Kong  1997-2047   and  China-Macau 1999-2049.     

 

Hong Kong had done very well in light industry manufacturing in very old days ( years/decades after WW2 ),  and international import-export and trade,  and subsequently as world class shipping hub.  

Gradually,  Hong Kong had been shifting to be an international  "mover and shaker" heavens as of now.

 

One backbone factor remains :  Hong Kong is very rich in both public and private sectors.   But the wealth is not well shared among the population. 

 

Outsiders are not able to understand for various reasons.  

Eric Loh,  you may know some of it.  Reading your post,  I just do not know your background and information search etc.  

 

 

For those comment about HKD exchange rate.    USA and/or Trump cannot  de-peg HKD to US$  no matter what they do.   Only Beijing and Hong Kong can make that decision.   

In view of all the uncertainty and change,  you think Beijing and Hong Kong will make such BIG move now ? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[samran]

2 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

China prefer to resolve any disputes peacefully with the individual claimants on a bilateral basis. 

A strategy also known as ‘divide and conquer’. 

[Eric Loh]

2 hours ago, sscc said:

 

 

Hong Kong problem is rather complicated,  so is the 'One Country, Two Systems'  set-up for both

China-Hong Kong  1997-2047   and  China-Macau 1999-2049.     

 

Hong Kong had done very well in light industry manufacturing in very old days ( years/decades after WW2 ),  and international import-export and trade,  and subsequently as world class shipping hub.  

Gradually,  Hong Kong had been shifting to be an international  "mover and shaker" heavens as of now.

 

One backbone factor remains :  Hong Kong is very rich in both public and private sectors.   But the wealth is not well shared among the population. 

 

Outsiders are not able to understand for various reasons.  

Eric Loh,  you may know some of it.  Reading your post,  I just do not know your background and information search etc.  

 

 

For those comment about HKD exchange rate.    USA and/or Trump cannot  de-peg HKD to US$  no matter what they do.   Only Beijing and Hong Kong can make that decision.   

In view of all the uncertainty and change,  you think Beijing and Hong Kong will make such BIG move now ? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The One Country 2 Systems is indeed an unique political arrangement. China could have just took over Hong Kong when the lease expired in 1997. I think better sense prevailed with the Chinese government to avoid a panic and a brain drain and also capital flights. 90s China GDP was only a fraction of what it is today and Hong Kong was very important for her economic contribution and also the ports for the South China provinces and well developed financial infrastructure. Economic situation has changed much since then and China had time to prepare for a Hong Kong replacement. 
 

Things would have remained status quo if not for the resurgence of pro democracy elements that started with the Umbrella Movement for political and social changes. The Basic Law has not changed but the National Security Law was added to prevent secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. Most countries have such laws. China need cohesion and fear threats of widening protests in the mainland. 
 

You highlighted a good point of huge gap in income inequality which was one of the demand of the Umbrella Movement protest by mostly young people. China must do something about this increasing income divide. 
 

I think China would not do anything that dramatic to de-peg as Hong Kong is a good source for US dollar and also they fear capital flights that may have contagion effect on the China economy. They will

continue to absorb US pressure and wait for an opportune time to react. That’s always their strategy. 
 

 

 

[PatOngo]

Finally, a return volley from Trump, albeit not strong enough to counter China's undeclared commencement of WWIII!

[Damual Travesty]

On 7/15/2020 at 1:53 PM, JCauto said:

Trump discarded decades of carefully constructed leverage to counter-balance China in order to gain a temporary soundbite and benefit when he went after protesters and encouraged police violence. I posted at that time that Hong Kong was now lost. Now it's too late, and any "tough guy" posturing will rightfully be chortled at in the Party Hall in Beijing.

 

So much winning.

Decades of carefully constructed leverage to counter-balance China? Counter balance against what? The last administrations of the United States Democrat and Republican alike have been asleep at the wheel as Chinese power rises. As the Australian prime minister has said we are in a moment in time that feels like the 1930's as fascist power was on the rise.  China is claiming the South China sea, nearly all of it. Has already built military installations including airstrips, military barracks, missile installation on built up sand bar Islands in contested waters by multiple nations.  They threatened trade sanctions and insulted Australian merely for asking for an independent enquiry into the Chinese CCP Laboratory Bat Corona Virus. They have given their President authority to be President for life, they have announced in their five year plans, that they intend to have a fighting force capable of winning war in multiple simultaneous theatres. RIGHT NOW: The USA needs to to solidify into a solid National will to face this threat. Most likely this will require zero interest loans to Australia for the purpose of building their Navy, and tighter military unity with Australia, Japan, South Korea, and tightening up alliances with South East Asia Nations like the Philippines. This is no time for pretending that its not a time to be tough on China. The 3rd Aircraft carrier about to hit the water, and the succeeding battle groups will only come faster. Sooner then we think Taiwan will be in a situation where they will be forced to declare absolute forever independence from China, and as soon as China has 4 carriers in the water at the same time they will attempt to take Taiwan. Japan Southern Islands are also at risk, as the Nationalism of China runs deep.  The future is going to no longer be one of international free trade - with China at the forefront, I expect soon enough that things are going to break down into trading blocks. Again, a solid national will in the USA is needed to fight this threat and coordinate tightly with allies. Australia needs massive new ships - Destroyers, Guided Missile Frigates, and submarines to defend their coast and trade, and the USA likewise needs to build up the Navy. This isn't time for silly snark!

Edited July 16, 2020 by Damual Travesty
sp

[sammieuk1]

Everyone should be able to get one thing right every 4+ years go cut their money off DT????  

[IAMHERE]

Is Trump and the USA the only pressure on China about Hong Kong?  Maybe the rest of the world is correct on this one. 

[car720]

16 hours ago, sscc said:

 

CCP members to mainland Chinese population is in ratio of approximately  1 to 17.  

Most don't even know about it. 

 

You wife and yourself have one opinion on 1 out of 17 Chinese and another opinion on other 16 ?

 

 

 

 

 

I should have been more succinct for sure.  I was refering to the main front of the party which from memory is only about 500 people.

[candide]

17 hours ago, sscc said:

 

CCP members to mainland Chinese population is in ratio of approximately  1 to 17.  

Most don't even know about it. 

 

You wife and yourself have one opinion on 1 out of 17 Chinese and another opinion on other 16 ?

 

 

 

 

 

Around 90 million, so more like 1 to 14. 

[englishoak]

China has been consistently lying about its GDP annually for over a decade by at least 2%, plenty of evidence out there these last few years. China is one big conjob. Should watch a documentary called the China hustle and how its scammed hundreds of billions by floating sham companies on the the US stock market.

 

HK was done a long time ago, the smart ones left then and the ones who hung about did so to make more money, not many surprised about Bejing moving in early but the price will be high. 

 

HK assimilation was always certain but Xi has become impatient while his position is weakening. The problem of being leader absolute is when things dont go well the blame is all on them. Xi wanted the chair and hes going to be judged as responsible for everyones well being and affluence, just as its going to slow down in growth, and hes only a bear of little brain is our poo, all fluff and stuff. Problem is the others salivating over the opportunity to bring him down are just as bad if not worse...  

 

Good on Trump for doing something, there have been far too many taking the Chinese bribe for far too long

 

 

Edited July 16, 2020 by englishoak

[candide]

8 hours ago, Damual Travesty said:

The future is going to no longer be one of international free trade - with China at the forefront, I expect soon enough that things are going to break down into trading blocks.

How stupid and short-sighted was it to scratch the TPP......