A Diseased US Makes a Play To Sanction China

Published in Huanqiu
(China) on 28 May 2020
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Liza Roberts. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.
On Wednesday, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testified before Congress that Hong Kong no longer has a high degree of autonomy with respect to China, and thus is no longer eligible for special legal treatment established in July 1997. At the same time, Pompeo falsely declared that the U.S. “stands with the people of Hong Kong.” In his report to Congress, Pompeo stated that the U.S. government will announce sanctions against China’s security law for Hong Kong, but Pompeo’s statement does not automatically mean the U.S. will revoke Hong Kong’s special status.

The battle between China and the U.S. for Hong Kong has already begun. The U.S. is being aggressive, but there is really only one step it can take to have a substantive impact, which is to abolish Hong Kong’s special status and treat Hong Kong as part of mainland China. However, this is a double-edged sword that will simultaneously harm many American companies by severely impacting U.S. exports to Hong Kong.

Overall, China is the driving force in the China-U.S. battle for Hong Kong. Although the U.S. may damage Hong Kong’s position from the outside, this strategy is limited. Following the adoption of the Hong Kong national security law, the ability of the U.S. to directly intervene in Hong Kong affairs will be greatly reduced. The way in which the situation in Hong Kong progresses and whether the city remains prosperous will be determined by the independent actions of Hong Kong residents with the help of China.

The United States has long regarded Hong Kong as a pawn in its fight against Beijing. As soon as the U.S. loses this battle, its real face as the enemy of the people in Hong Kong will gradually be revealed. The more sanctions are placed on Hong Kong, the more the interests of Hong Kong will be tied to those of mainland China, and a pattern of shared honor and disgrace will truly form. The national security law and the United States’ wrongful actions together will rebuild Hong Kong’s public forum, creating a general tendency for nationalism and the loss of any room for aggression and revolt.

Hong Kong will eventually stabilize, which will open up broad prospects for it to continue as a financial center. The strength of the Chinese economy and the gradual completion of its economic system provide ample opportunities to support the global financial system. Many Chinese cities serve as financial centers, which is not a gift bestowed on them by the United States but a position earned by the Chinese people themselves. It can be said that once you reach the coastline of China, once a city is determined to be a financial center, nobody can destroy the power and fortune of that place.

The U.S. has never given Hong Kong any special benefits. In the past, Hong Kong’s function as a financial center has persisted by means of its clever display of reliance on mainland China and its unique advantage as the best mediator between China and the West. If the U.S. insists on decoupling from China, it certainly will never be able to blame Hong Kong alone.

Promoting disorder in Hong Kong is a vicious strike by the U.S. Before the national security law, negative forces plotted to damage the relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland. Now, the U.S. has turned its back on Hong Kong. No matter how the deterioration of Chinese-U.S. relations plays out, it will be reflected in Hong Kong, which must adapt to changes and enhance its own ability to maintain prosperity.

The U.S. is not the world, and it does not even make up the entirety of the West. As soon as Hong Kong regains its stability with the strong support of China and regains a high degree of autonomy, then the momentum for development will be stronger than before. Looking at the great things Shanghai and Shenzhen have done, Hong Kong has the same resources to work with at home and also has more access to resources globally. Hong Kong has no reason to diverge from its current path simply because the U.S. has made things more difficult. The United States simply does not have that much power.

Let Washington yell; its sanctions are nothing but extreme bluffing. It is pleasing to see that many Hong Kong institutions, organizations and business leaders have all expressed their support for the national security law, and the momentum of radical demonstrations is much less forceful than what people are describing. Internationally, the response to Washington has been of a much lesser scale than Washington had hoped to achieve. All of this tells us that the Hong Kong national security legislation has actually been a relatively proactive first step.

Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy requires protection by the national security law, and Washington does not have the power to define what this autonomy means. The U.S. has made a rash judgment about its role in Hong Kong before the national security law has been fully worked out, exposing Washington’s desire to make the battle for Hong Kong another round in its chess game against China. Well then, the Chinese await its next move.


美国国务卿蓬佩奥星期三说,他对国会证明香港不再拥有高度自治,已不再适用美国1997年7月之前的法律待遇。他同时虚伪地宣称,“美国同香港人民站在一起”。报道说,美国政府最快将于星期五公布针对中国涉港国安立法的“制裁措施”,不过蓬佩奥的声明不会自动触发美国取消香港独立关税地位。

中美之间的“香港战役”已经打响,美国气势汹汹,但它能产生全局性影响的实质手段其实只有一个,那就是取消香港的独立关税地位,把香港当成中国内地对待。而这又是一把双刃剑,将同时打击大量美国公司,严重影响美国对香港的出口。

中美“香港战役”的总态势是,中国掌握着实际主动权,美国虽能从外部破坏香港的环境,但所起作用是有限的。在国安法通过后,美直接干预香港局势的能力将被大大压缩,香港局势接下来怎么走,这座城市如何续写繁荣,都将由香港人民在国家的帮助下独立塑造。


随着时间的推移,美国把香港当对抗北京的棋子,一旦利用不成就与香港人民为敌的真实面目将逐渐暴露出来。美国越制裁香港,香港广大民众的利益越与整个国家拴在一起,真正形成香港与祖国荣辱与共的格局。国安法加上美国的错误行动将共同重构香港的舆论氛围,卖国主义逐渐在香港失去嚣张作乱的空间是大势所趋。

香港终将稳定下来,那将为它继续扮演金融中心的角色开辟广阔前景。中国经济体量的雄厚和制度的逐渐完备具有支持世界性金融中心的充裕条件,中国的城市里有金融中心,这决非美方的恩赐,它是中国人自己挣出来的位置。可以这么说,在中国的海岸线上,我们一旦把金融中心确定在哪个地方,谁都破坏不了那里的权利和运势。

美国从没有专门给香港什么好处,过去香港发挥金融中心的功能也在于它巧妙释放出了背靠内地的独特优势,并且做了中西之间最好的沟通者。美国若执意与中国“脱钩”,它绝不会单独吝惜香港。

搅乱香港就是美开始对这座城市下毒手。没有国安法之前,恶势力试图冲击香港与内地的关系,有国安法之后,美对香港“翻脸”。中美关系恶化无论如何都会反应到香港这里,香港势必要以变应变,丰富自己保持繁荣的方式。

美国不是世界,它甚至不是整个西方。香港只要重新实现稳定,有国家的鼎力支持,又有高度自治的特殊条件,它的发展大运势只会比过去更好。看看上海、深圳都做了多么伟大的事情,香港有着对内同一起跑线、对外更加开放的雄厚资源,它没有任何理由因为美国给一只小鞋穿就摔倒在前进的路上。美国根本就没有那么大的力量。

让华盛顿叫喊吧,它的制裁就像不到半瓶啤酒使劲晃出沫一样唬人。我们高兴地看到,大量香港的机构和组织以及工商业领袖都在发出声音支持国安法的制定,而激进示威的势头则远不像那些人吹嘘的一样汹涌。在国际上,华盛顿得到的应和也远未达到它希望的规模。这一切都在告诉我们,涉港国安立法实际迈出了相当主动的第一步。

香港的高度自治需要国安法的护佑,华盛顿岂有定义什么叫香港高度自治的权力。美方在港区国安法还没有制定出来就对它的作用进行妄断,暴露的是华盛顿要把“香港战役”打成对华博弈一大回合的谋算。那么好吧,中国人等着你们出招。
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