International
‘We won’t be threatened’, Hong Kong reacts to Trump’s new move to punish China
Hong Kong officials have faulted the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump for moving to strip the city of its special status in a bid to punish China for imposing national security laws on the semi-autonomous nation.
Security minister, John Lee told reporters on Saturday after Trump said the city no longer warranted economic privileges, that Hong Kong could not be threatened and would push ahead with the new laws imposed by China.
“I don’t think they will succeed in using any means to threaten the [Hong Kong] government, because we believe what we are doing is right,” Lee said.
Justice minister Teresa Cheng said the basis for Trump’s actions was “completely false and wrong”, saying national security laws were legal and necessary for the former British colony.
Trump had announced the decision at a White House news conference on Friday, saying Beijing had broken its word over Hong Kong’s autonomy.
He said its move was a “tragedy” for the people of Hong Kong, China and the world.
READ ALSO: China plotting to make me lose re-election race in November —Trump
“We will take action to revoke Hong Kong’s preferential treatment,” he said, adding that Washington would also impose sanctions on individuals seen as responsible for smothering Hong Kong’s autonomy.
Trump while launching the attack on Beijing, named misdeeds that range from espionage to the violation of Hong Kong’s freedoms, and announced a slew of retaliatory measures that will plunge US-China relations deeper into crisis.
“They’ve ripped off the United States like no one has ever done before,” Trump said of China, as he decried the way Beijing has “raided our factories” and “gutted” American industry, casting Beijing as a central foil he will run against in the remaining months of his re-election campaign.
Mr Trump said that he no longer considered Hong Kong to be separate from China but stopped short of an immediate end to the territory’s cherished privileges that have helped it remain a global financial center.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...