OpinionIn US bill on Hong Kong democracy, the real target is China. City should speak out against foreign meddling

In a hearing on Capitol Hill last week, Joshua Wong and two other Hong Kong activists urged the US Congress to punish the city’s leaders for stifling freedoms

But given the bipartisan consensus that China poses the greatest challenge to US supremacy, its decision to pass the bill was a bygone conclusion

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Joshua Wong arrives to testify before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China about the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, on September 17. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:15pm, 29 Sep 2019Updated: 2:17pm, 29 Sep 2019

It is tempting to dismiss as a farce the spectacle of Joshua Wong and two other activists urging the United States Congress last week to punish Hong Kong for stifling freedom and democracy – but that would be missing the point.

No doubt their testimony before a Congressional panel was pure political theatre, but that does not mean one should not reflect on what the episode was really about, and what it portends for China and Hong Kong.

Ostensibly, the hearing was called to deliberate on the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which enables the US Congress to assess the city’s status under American law annually, and sanction leaders there who undermine democracy. The penalty for that is removal of certain tariff privileges which the United States grants Hong Kong as a separate customs territory, and therefore distinct from China.

Only those who refuse to see will fail to discern that the real target is China. This exercise is not about Hong Kong and it would be naive to think that Congress cares about the city, which it regards as just the battering ram. If the concern is genuinely about human rights and freedom, then Hong Kong should await its turn in a long list of abusers, starting with Saudi Arabia.