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Opinion | As a new cold war dawns and the US pursues strategic competition with China, Beijing must reassess its own policies
- US opposition to China’s enactment of a national security law in Hong Kong is grounded in a larger strategy of opposing China on all fronts
- In response, China must exercise its right to safeguard national sovereignty, adhere to multilateralism and expand the reform and opening up process
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As China’s national legislature deliberates a draft decision on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for Hong Kong to safeguard national security, huge criticism has poured in from the West.
Leading the charge was US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who urged China to “reconsider its disastrous proposal” and “abide by its international obligations”. Chris Patten, the last governor of the former British colony, also aired his views, having never failed to seize any opportunity to criticise China on Hong Kong.
The average Chinese citizen would find it very difficult to understand the logic behind these criticisms. The US Congress has, on a number of occasions, passed legislation on the issue of Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Xingjiang, which are all Chinese territories.
If a foreign country can pass laws which apply extraterritorially and which interfere in China’s domestic affairs, why should China not pass laws which apply to its own territory? If, in doing so, China is accused of violating its international obligations, how should the legitimacy of the legislative actions of the United States be assessed?
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White House says Beijing’s proposed national security law for Hong Kong could lead to US sanctions
White House says Beijing’s proposed national security law for Hong Kong could lead to US sanctions
There are clues in a Trump administration report, “United States Strategic Approach to the People’s Republic of China”, released on May 20, which acknowledges the failure of an engagement policy that had been pursued for 40 years and declares a reappraisal of the US’ strategic advantages and shortcomings. The document makes clear that “through a whole-of-government approach and guided by a return to principled realism”, the US will attempt to contain China on all fronts – economic, political and military.
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