'Beijing Overlooking Impact Of Reaction To New Law'

The chairman of the Democratic Party, Wu Chi-wai, said on Saturday that Beijing may have underestimated the potential impact of international reaction to its move to impose a national security law on Hong Kong.

The US announced on Friday it was restricting visas for a number of unspecified current and former officials of the Chinese Communist Party, saying these figures had infringed Hong Kong’s autonomy through a plan to impose a national security law on the SAR.

The US Senate has also passed legislation that would impose sanctions on individuals and companies it considers to be accomplices in any move to restrict Hong Kong’s freedoms.

Wu said these moves show the international community’s deep concerns over how the upcoming national security law will affect Hong Kong.

He believes these latest steps are unlikely to stop Beijing from enacting the national security law.

“The result will be reconsideration for the international community on whether or not Hong Kong can still be treated with a special status,” he said, adding the impact of these moves will be seen in the long term.

Meanwhile, Liberal Party leader Felix Chung said he thinks the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which was passed by the US Senate, will pose a huge threat to the city’s business sector.

Chung described the bill as even more harsh than the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which US President Donald Trump signed into law last year, as companies and banks could be sanctioned.

However, FTU lawmaker Wong Kwok-kin said these moves by Washington were within Beijing’s expectations, and only what he called a “minimum charge".

Wong also said the European Union has so far only voiced concerns over the national security law, but had not taken any actual action.