Trump's Contradictory Hong Kong

Hong Kong - the site of civil protest between the city itself and mainland China over an extradition bill that would allow for greater governmental control over this special administrative region that has long held much more liberal policies than China.


Trump, as expected from the leader of the forefront nation of democracy, has declared his support for Hong Kong numerous times, but has refused to put any sort of sanctions or pressure on China for using military forces against protestors.

This week, the House and Senate passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act with overwhelming, veto-proof support. The bill in question would strip Hong Kong of its preferential trade partner status if China fails to uphold basic freedoms guaranteed to the colony when released from British control. However, Trump has stalled on this bill, trying instead to broker a deal with the Chinese president that would allow for more trade in this "trade war" between the two countries.

However, as Business Inside states, China stalling actually benefits China itself, as they are able to slowly achieve their ultimate goals of being able to continue violate human rights in Hong Kong and achieve the reunification of Taiwan and his super focus on trade allows for China to leverage these other goals to their needs. So it'll be in the last moments of Trump's first term that we will be able to see if the economy or human rights takes a larger precedence in this defining moment of Trump's foreign policy.

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-trade-war-tariffs-china-bijing-political-defense-opportunity-2019-11

https://www.npr.org/2019/11/22/781972199/president-trump-waffles-on-hong-kong-democracy-bill