US has ‘persecutory delusion,’ Beijing says after Joe Biden renews ’emergency status’ for Hong Kong
Hong Kong Free Press
Beijing’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong has accused the US of “persecutory delusion” after Washington extended the city’s “emergency status,” citing “recent actions” taken by China.
The Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong released a statement on Thursday warning the US to stop interfering in the city’s affairs.
“The US has again generalised the concept of national security to delusionally claim that Hong Kong’s situation poses a threat to US security, foreign policy and economy,” the Chinese statement read. “[US] persecutory delusion is getting worse.”
The office added that the US should “immediately stop its self-humiliating political act” or face the “collective opposition and firm counterattacks” of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese people.
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden renewed a national emergency order “to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States constituted by the situation with respect to Hong Kong.”
It marked the fourth time the US had renewed the order, which was first declared by then-president Donald Trump in July 2020 following Beijing’s imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong.
Trump at the time called the security law Beijing’s “latest salvo in a series of actions” denying the city autonomy.
As part of the order, the US ended trade privileges it had once afforded to Hong Kong. Trump said to reporters at the time that Hong Kong would be “now be treated the same as mainland China – no special privileges, no special economic treatment and no export of sensitive technologies.”
In a statement on Wednesday, Biden said “recent actions taken by the People’s Republic of China to fundamentally undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy” continued to pose an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the US.
Beijing imposed a national security law in Hong Kong in July 2020 after months of protests and unrest against a controversial extradition law. The demonstrations ballooned into a wider display of opposition against the city’s and the central government.
The government has hit back at criticism of the security law from overseas officials and rights NGOs, saying it has restored stability and prosperity to Hong Kong.
In April, after the city passed additional security legislation, known locally as Article 23, the US – alongside countries including Canada and Australia – updated its travel advice for citizens visiting Hong Kong. The US said travellers should “exercise increased caution” due to “arbitrary enforcement of local laws.”
In response, Hong Kong authorities defended the law, saying it “defines elements and penalties of the offences with clarity,” and called the decision to update the travel advisory a “political manoeuvre.”
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