The US House of Representatives approves – by 413 to 3 – the HKETO Certification Act, which requires the US government to consider shutting down Hong Kong’s economic and trade offices in the US. The bill still needs to go to the Senate.
The HK government waxes wrathful, with a 10-para press release…
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (September 11) strongly condemned the United States (US) House of Representatives for making use of the so-called Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Certification Act to slander laws on safeguarding national security in Hong Kong and smear the human rights situation in Hong Kong. The US House of Representatives’ fact-twisting attack on Hong Kong is politically driven, violates international law and the basic norms governing international relations, and grossly interferes in the affairs of Hong Kong. The HKSAR refutes this action resolutely and condemns it strongly.
The so-called Act is a self-deception of double standards. Despite the US having the most stringent national security legislation, the Act maliciously slanders against the just and legitimate objective of the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL) and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO), disregards the constitutional obligation and inherent rights of the HKSAR to safeguard national security, smears the fact that human rights and the rule of law are properly protected in accordance with the law by the HKSAR Government, and grossly interferes in the affairs of Hong Kong. Such a political manoeuvre not only maliciously attacks the work of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs) in the US on promoting normal economic and trade relations and cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and the US, but further advocates for their closure, severely damaging the normal economic and trade relations. The HKSAR refutes this action resolutely and condemns it strongly.
The bill is part of what RFA calls a ‘laundry list’ of bills being fast-tracked through the House during a ‘China Week’, covering such subjects as Chinese electric vehicle imports, Chinese influence over the WHO, and Confucius Institutes.
The SCMP mentions briefly that US-based activists have called HKETOs ‘vectors for [Hong Kong’s] malign influence’. They routinely amplify the Hong Kong government’s talking points on issues like the NatSec Laws, and earlier this year an employee of the London one was arrested for involvement in Beijing’s campaigns against dissidents in exile overseas.
So the HKCCPSAR government admits there IS a human rights “situation”? They behave and write as if HK is a country with a foreign affairs ministry.
Some great boilerplate indignation & outrage, otherwise.
“Despite the US having the most stringent national security legislation”
Last I checked the US national security legislation doesn’t jail people for mere words and T shirts nor create a presumption against bail for “speech crime” resulting in ridiculous situations where people accused of regular crimes such as assault can easily post bail while someone who wrote a Facebook post that the regime doesn’t like rots in jail.
The HKSAR government and its regime within a larger regime fully deserve everything they are getting.
Only 10 paragraphs? Weak effort.
The speakers in the press office are always set at 11.
Stop. Yelling. At. Me.
I note that both the paragraphs taken from Hong Kong City Council’s AI-generated tirade end with the same sentence.
Is this true of the remaining eight paragraphs?
I am insufficiently motivated to look.