By Hu Zexi, People’s Daily app
On Tuesday evening, the US Senate passed a controversial Hong Kong bill, which is bound to have an adverse impact on the restoration and stability in Hong Kong, as well as on the overall Sino-US relations.
The newly passed so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 requires the US State Department to conduct an annual review of Hong Kong’s autonomy status, and links the US tariff status granted to the territory to that review.
A similar bill had already passed the House of Representatives. Next, the two chambers of US Congress need to reconcile the differences between the two versions of the bill and come up with a single version for President Donald Trump to sign.
The Chinese government has stressed on many occasions that Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs and the US Congress’s interference in Hong Kong affairs is a blatant violation of international law.
Against the backdrop of continuing violence in Hong Kong, the US Congress’s insistence on advancing this legislation sends the wrong message to Hong Kong rioters. As analysts have pointed out, it will only hinder the restoring stability in Hong Kong.
On Tuesday afternoon, before the Senate passed the bill, several senators spoke about the situation in Hong Kong. It is not hard to see from their statements that they have a complete selective blindness to what is happening in Hong Kong. While throwing groundless accusations at Beijing, these senators completely ignored the rioters in Hong Kong who smashed and burned public property, and openly stood up for the violent forces in the city.
Over the past months, some US politicians, such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio, are keen to play up the current mess in Hong Kong. Judging from their public statements, it is not hard to see that what they care more about is not how to restore stability in Hong Kong, but how to make political capital for themselves by playing the China hawk roles. Indeed, such a choice would be downright self-defeating. Even inside the US, there are many analyses suggesting that Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act would also be a blow to the interests of US companies.
The pass of this Hong Kong bill also exposes a more serious problem. At present, there is a very strong political force in the United States whose handling of the relationship between China and the US is full of ideological prejudice.
Over the past four decades, the general stable relationship between China and the US has brought enormous benefits to both peoples and the world. But it should not be forgotten that such results are only possible when the two countries have a rational attitude towards each other’s differences. It is clear that currently some political forces inside the US are drifting away from such a responsible attitude. If left unchecked, this will only lead to a more turbulent future for China-US relations and the world.
