‘Shameless and ugly’: John Lee condemns US bill that could close Hong Kong’s trade offices across America
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee has condemned a US bill that could close Hong Kong’s trade office in the US, calling the move “shameless and ugly.”
Lee said on Tuesday morning, during a weekly press conference, that the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) Certification Act is a means to “suppress” the development of Hong Kong and mainland China by “defaming” the city’s national security laws and “smearing” its human rights record.
Lee added that the act would harm the trade relationship between the world’s biggest economy and Hong Kong, with the American business sector ultimately suffering from the bill’s enactment.
“These are shameless and ugly political tactics, especially since the United Nations [sic: United States] itself has the most stringent security laws, using it to target its competitors, especially when it fails to compete well…” Lee said. “If the US is determined to go its way, then our country has indicated that we will retaliate with strong and resolute measures.”
On Monday, the city convicted the first person under a new security law, passed in March. Chu Kai-pong faces up to a decade behind bars for wearing a “seditious” t-shirt.
Hong Kong’s government currently runs 14 Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs) in foreign countries, including three in the US – with offices in Washington, New York and San Francisco.
Last Tuesday, the US House of Representatives passed the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) Certification Act, with 413 legislators supporting the bill and three opposing – a rare demonstration of cross-party unity.
The bill calls on the US president to “remove the extension of certain privileges, exemptions, and immunities to the HKETOs in the US if they determine that Hong Kong no longer enjoys a high degree of autonomy from the People’s Republic of China.”
For a bill to become law in the US, it must pass through both the House and the Senate before it can be signed by the president.
Beijing and Hong Kong hit back over the bill last Tuesday, with a spokesperson for China’s embassy in the US condemning it as “suppressing Hong Kong’s development for political purposes.”
HKETO staff charged in UK
The operations of HKETOs sparked international controversy earlier in May. Three people with links to the London trade mission were charged under the UK’s 2023 National Security Act for allegedly assisting a foreign intelligence service and engaging in foreign interference on behalf of Hong Kong.
One of those arrested in May, Bill Yuen, was an office manager at the London HKETO and a retired Hong Kong police officer. Prosecutors have alleged that he hired Peter Wai and Matthew Trickett to conduct surveillance operations and break into the home of a British National (Overseas) passport holder who had left Hong Kong last December. Trickett was found dead in a park days later, in an apparent suicide.
In response to the charges, Hong Kong’s leader Lee said the role of the ETO in London was to communicate with various stakeholders to promote the advantages of Hong Kong and facilitate the British business sector in accessing business opportunities.
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