Suspension of incentives to Hong Kong will bring business to US: Trump

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) said that the suspension of subsidies to Hong Kong will bring in business to the United States.

Replying to a question on the recent arrest of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, Trump said, “I sent him best wishes. I hear he is a wonderful gentleman and a brave man.” He further said, “We have given all sorts of incentives to Hong Kong so that freedom will be upheld in the city. It helped the city become a business hot spot. However, now with the freedom of Hong Kong being taken away by China, the US is no longer giving them the incentives.”

The business that earlier was in Hong Kong will come back to the US including the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, he added.

Earlier in the day, the US has suspended three bilateral agreements with the Chinese Communist Party over the imposition of National Security Law in Hong Kong.

China had imposed the draconian National Security Law in Hong Kong, which crushed the freedoms of the city’s citizens. The legislation, which came into effect on July 1, punishes what Beijing terms secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference with up to life in prison.

“The Chinese Communist Party has taken drastic steps to erode the high degree of autonomy that Beijing itself promised to the United Kingdom and the people of Hong Kong for 50 years under the UN-registered Sino-British Joint Declaration,” the statement released by the US Department of State read.

“President Trump has made clear that the United States will, therefore, treat Hong Kong as ‘one country, one system’ and take action against individuals who have crushed the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong,” said Morgan Ortagus, the Department Spokesperson.

He further said, “The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization (E.O. 13936) set forth a number of responses to Beijing’s actions, including suspending and eliminating preferential treatment for Hong Kong.”

“As part of the ongoing implementation measures, we notified the Hong Kong authorities on August 19 of our suspension or termination of three bilateral agreements. These agreements covered the surrender of fugitive offenders, the transfer of sentenced persons, and reciprocal tax exemptions on income derived from the international operation of ships,” Ortagus added.

Source: ANI