Hong Kong government condemns US House for ‘fact-twisting’ bill that could close representative offices News
17jiangz1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hong Kong government condemns US House for ‘fact-twisting’ bill that could close representative offices

The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) condemned the US House of Representatives on Wednesday for using its Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) Certification Act to “slander laws on safeguarding national security” and “smear the human rights situation” in Hong Kong.

The bill, which passed the House 413-3, seeks to remove certain diplomatic privileges currently extended to Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in the US if the HKSAR “no longer enjoys a high degree of autonomy from the People’s Republic of China” (PRC). The act in its current form will require the US president to periodically determine whether HKETOs in the US should be allowed to continue operating. The Hong Kong government criticized the bill as a “fact-twisting” and politically driven attack on the city that violates international law and interferes in Hong Kong’s affairs. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) claims that China will take “strong and resolute countermeasures” if the bill is not stopped.

The Certification Act was first introduced in February 2023, years after the initial implementation of the controversial Beijing-imposed National Security Law (NSL) in Hong Kong that intensified concerns about human rights in Hong Kong and the Special Administrative Region (SAR)’s continued autonomy under China. While the text of the Certification Act does not directly mention the 2020 national security law or Article 23 in its text, the HKSAR government argued that the Certification Act slandered the “just and legitimate objective” of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL). The government further viewed the Act as “self-deception” which set “double standards”, as it saw the US as having the “most stringent national security legislation.”

The Certification Act was introduced in the House by Representative Cristopher H. Smith, the Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC). In a press release, Representative Smith, along with CECC co-chair Senator Jeff Merkley, claimed that while the HKETOs were intended to act as “official representative offices” of an autonomous HKSAR under the “one country, two systems” framework, the arrangement has been “obliterated” by the PRC and the offices now appear to be “mere appendages” of the Chinese government. The chairs said:

This bill recognizes the sad reality that the civil and political freedoms once enjoyed by the Hong Kong people, and guaranteed by international law, are fast receding. HKETOs have become additional diplomatic outposts of the PRC and allowed to freely push a nothing-to-see-here narrative about Hong Kong. When there are hundreds of political prisoners in this former outpost of freedom, such a message is pure propaganda.

For its part, the HKSAR government claims that it properly protects the rule of law and human rights while maintaining international economic and trade relations in accordance with the “one country, two systems” framework. “Law enforcement actions taken by HKSAR law enforcement agencies, including those taken under the NSL, the SNSO and other Hong Kong laws, are based on evidence and strictly in accordance with the law, and have nothing to do with the occupation, background or political stance of the persons concerned,” it said. Alongside China’s MFA, the Hong Kong government also emphasized the trade and cultural benefits of the HKETOs, noting the significant trade surplus from Hong Kong to the US.

Hong Kong maintains 14 HKETOs around the world, three of which are in the US. In May, a manager of the HKETO in London was arrested by British authorities alongside two other men for assisting Hong Kong’s foreign intelligence service. The Chinese Embassy in London denied the allegations and accused the UK of fabricating the case.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko died in police custody

On September 12, 1977, South African anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko died in police custody after having suffered a massive head injury during interrogation following his arrest. The story of journalist Donald Woods' investigation into the circumstances of Biko's death was the basis of the 1987 film Cry Freedom. Read an address on Stephen Biko delivered by then-South African President Nelson Mandela on the 20th anniversary of Biko's death in 1997.

Supreme Court unanimously rejects state challenge Brown v. Board of Education

On September 12, 1958, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected a state government challenge to Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka Kansas, which had overturned segregation. In Cooper vs. Aaron, the State Government of Arkansas challenged the authority of the Court to implement desegregation. The Court responded by forcefully re-asserting its authority and the authority of the federal government over the states.