Under the Basic Law, Hong Kong can “establish official or semi-official economic and trade missions in foreign countries” (Article 156). This is entirely appropriate, as the city, using the name “Hong Kong, China”, is a separate customs territory. In its own right, it participates in international organizations like the World Trade Organization and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. As a staunch supporter of free trade, Hong Kong is committed to the removal of trade barriers and to measures that promote free trade.
Hong Kong currently has 14 overseas Economic and Trade Offices (HKETOs) worldwide, three of which are in the United States. They are situated in Washington DC, New York and San Francisco, and concentrate on promoting Hong Kong’s economic and trade interests. If, therefore, anybody wanted to undermine the city’s trade and harm the welfare of its people, they would target the HKETOs, which is precisely what is happening in the US.
On Nov 29, the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, by a vote of 39 to 0, passed the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Certification Act (“the bill”). It requires the US president to “remove the extension of certain privileges, exemptions, and immunities to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices if Hong Kong no longer enjoys a high degree of autonomy from the People’s Republic of China, and for other purposes.”
If the bill is approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate, and signed into law by US President Joe Biden, it will, given that the ideologues have already adjudged Hong Kong “guilty, as charged,” pave the way for the closure of the three HKETOs. This will be in nobody’s interests, as it will harm economic and trade relations between Hong Kong and the US, as well as cultural exchanges.
If the bill is enacted, it would disadvantage Hong Kong, however it would also shoot the US in the foot. It has enjoyed a trade surplus of $284.9 billion with Hong Kong over the past decade, and over 1,200 of its companies operate in the city. Therefore, its interests lie in closer relations, not greater animosity.
The bill’s supporters, however, are impervious to reason and blinded by prejudice. They would be delighted to undermine Hong Kong, as a precursor to disengaging from China. However, not one of them has explained how endangering jobs is beneficial to anyone. Quite clearly, nobody benefits when bigots rule the roost and reason is sidelined.
The sad truth, moreover, is that the bill’s supporters can never forgive Hong Kong for its resilience, not to mention its courage, in overcoming the chaos in 2019-20. Having successfully defended itself from an insurrection that sought to wreck its “one country, two systems” policy, the city then successfully withstood US attempts to cripple its economy.
In 2020, the then-president, Donald Trump, unleashed hostile economic measures against Hong Kong, saying he wanted its financial markets to “go to hell”. After this failed, his successor, Joe Biden, issued his Hong Kong Business Advisory to dissuade American companies from doing business in the city. In the face of such stupidity, it was left to the US Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong to fly the flag of reason. It announced that “the city has a crucial role to play as an international business hub”, although this meant nothing to Washington’s fanatics.
The bill, moreover, has been months in the making and is part of the ongoing plot to strike at China by hurting Hong Kong. Its sponsors, Representatives Chris Smith and Jim McGovern, are Cold War throwbacks, even outshining the late Senator Joseph McCarthy, architect of the “Red Scare”. They are aligned with the politicians threatening the city’s judges, prosecutors and lawyers with punitive sanctions, and think nothing of endangering the city’s rule of law or economy. Lacking wisdom, they are consumed by a visceral hatred of China, not least because it is increasingly outshining the US in the areas that really matter.
It is, however, important to identify the sources of the contagion. One primary source, as the authorities hopefully appreciate, is Hong Kong Watch, the anti-China propaganda outfit operated in the UK by the serial fantasist, Benedict Rogers. Since he founded it in 2017, Rogers has used Hong Kong Watch to spread myths about China, to misrepresent the situation in Hong Kong, and to seek to harm both places.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong must realize who its friends are, and diversify as much as possible. Since taking office, the chief executive, John Lee Ka-chiu, has forged excellent ties around the world, including with ASEAN and the Middle East, and they provide Hong Kong with a fresh focus. If full advantage is taken of the emerging opportunities, it will help to blunt the machinations of those in the West who wish Hong Kong ill
Although Rogers has created a branch of Hong Kong Watch in Canada, he prefers to operate in the US through anti-China fronts, notably the Hong Kong Democracy Council (the two entities share advisors, including former legislator Ted Hui Chi-fung, a convicted felon and national security suspect).
Hong Kong Watch, moreover, has had the HKETOs in its sights for at least a year. On Oct 13, 2022, it published its research on their operations, and recommended that governments review their diplomatic status. It wanted to see the closure of the HKETOs not only in the US, but also in Canada, the European Union, Germany and the UK, and it is now campaigning to bring this about.
In December 2022, two months after Hong Kong Watch published its research, a bill that targeted the HKETOs (the precursor of the current bill) was introduced into the previous US Congress by Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Chris Smith. This was clearly not coincidental, and Hong Kong Watch, whether directly or through its US proxies, would have played a preparatory role.
Indeed, once the latest bill was approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Nov 29, Hong Kong Watch was ecstatic. Its US Research and Policy Advisor, Anouk Wear (from Hong Kong), said she hoped “the leadership of both parties will prioritize this important bill to be debated and voted on in the US House of Representatives”. She said it was “absolutely necessary” for the US government to review the status of the HKETOs, and to “call out their activities which actively promote disinformation regarding the ongoing human rights crackdown in Hong Kong” (by which she presumably meant exposing Hong Kong Watch’s mythmaking).
Although organizations like Hong Kong Watch and the Hong Kong Democracy Council specialize in trying to poison US-China relations, people of goodwill will hope their mischief-making does not prevail. However, as Rogers and his ilk make a healthy living out of stoking tensions, they have a vested interest in disharmony and know they are invaluable to China’s antagonists. That said, even useful idiots have a shelf life. The day will come when decent people tire of their hate-filled shenanigans.
In the meantime, it is salutary to recall the immortal words of the US attorney, Joseph Welch, while defending the US Army in 1954 from the smears of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Like Hong Kong Watch, McCarthy specialized in anti-communist hysteria, although it proved his undoing. During a bitter exchange at the trial that was broadcast live on national television, Welch rounded on McCarthy, declaring, “You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?” McCarthy never recovered, and, who knows, Welch’s words may even resonate with Rogers one day.
In an increasingly dangerous world, the ideologues have nothing to offer humanity. Their siren voices can only portend disaster, including for the US. It must be hoped that Washington will step back from the brink and that good sense can yet prevail. Even if, in an election year, Biden faces pressure from the ranters and ravers, he will hopefully stay focused on the bigger picture.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong must realize who its friends are, and diversify as much as possible. Since taking office, the chief executive, John Lee Ka-chiu, has forged excellent ties around the world, including with ASEAN and the Middle East, and they provide Hong Kong with a fresh focus. If full advantage is taken of the emerging opportunities, it will help to blunt the machinations of those in the West who wish Hong Kong ill.
The author is a senior counsel and law professor, and was previously the director of public prosecutions of the Hong Kong SAR.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
