The President of the United States, Donald Trump has withdrawn the special economic status granted to Honk Kong by the World Power.
Trump signed an executive order to end the preferential economic treatment of the Island due to the new national security law imposed by mainland China.
The US president while signing the executive order in the Rose Bush Garden of the White House said Hong Kong will now be treated like mainland China.
“No special privileges, no special economic treatment and no export of sensitive technologies,” Trump said.
He also signed an executive order imposing sanctions on Hong Kong officials who cracked down on human and civil rights. The Hong Kong Autonomy Act was passed in both Houses of Congress unanimously earlier in the month.
“This law gives my administration powerful new tools to hold responsible the individuals and the entities involved in extinguishing Hong Kong’s freedom.”
Hong Kong has enjoyed a special trade status with the United States and the UK based on a 1984 agreement. The United States and the UK see the new security law as a threat to the freedoms long enjoyed by the Island.
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Donald Trump said he had no desire to speak to President Xi Jinping of China reiterating that the United States holds China fully responsible for delaying information on the coronavirus pandemic and unleashing it on the rest of the world.
The new security law imposed by China outlaws criticism of the Chinese Government in Hong Kong which has witnessed massive, sometimes violent protests against mainland China.
China has strongly criticized the move and vowed to retaliate in kind. Issuing a strongly worded statement, the Chinese foreign ministry said the executive order was a gross interference in its domestic affairs.
The statement said China would also impose retaliatory sanctions against US citizens and corporations to safeguard its legitimate interests.
“The US attempt to obstruct the implementation of the national security law for Hong Kong will never succeed,” the statement said.
“We urge the US side to correct its mistakes, refrain from implementing the act and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs in any way. China will firmly respond if the US goes ahead.”