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Hong Kong hits out at US Congress for passing a bill that could close its representative offices

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Hong Kong hits out at US Congress for passing a bill that could close its representative offices
News

News

Hong Kong hits out at US Congress for passing a bill that could close its representative offices

2024-09-11 15:52 Last Updated At:16:00

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong's government on Wednesday said the U.S. House of Representatives twisted facts in an attack on the city as it passed a bill that could close its representative offices in America, while Beijing threatened to take countermeasures if they are shuttered.

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Certification Act was part of a series of China-related legislative proposals being scrutinized by the House this week. Many of the proposals scheduled for a vote appear to have both Republican and Democratic support, reflecting a strong consensus that congressional actions are needed to counter Beijing.

If approved, the measures would still need to clear the Senate and be signed by the U.S. president before officially becoming law. They are expected to increase diplomatic tensions between the world's two largest economies, which see each other as rivals in many areas and have conflicting views over various issues, including on Hong Kong.

On Wednesday, Hong Kong's Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau strongly condemned the bill's passage, saying it was political slander against the laws that safeguard national security and smeared the city's human rights situation “without any reason at all.”

He said the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong had surveyed its members and found that about 70% of respondents felt no negative impact from the Beijing-imposed security law. He said there are about 1,200 American companies in the city.

“The passing of the bill ... actually is not creating any benefit to anybody at all,” he said.

The Hong Kong government said in a statement that the attack on the semi-autonomous Chinese city was “politically driven,” violated international law and “grossly interferes” in Hong Kong's affairs.

The office of China's Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong also issued a strongly worded statement, saying if the U.S. pushed the bill forward and shut the offices, China would take resolute countermeasures.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the act politicizes normal trade cooperation and is “very egregious.” Mao said Hong Kong is the second-largest source of trade surplus for the U.S., warning the move would ultimately jeopardize America's own interests.

“China urges the U.S. to stop pushing forward the bill, so as not to cause more harm to the stability and development of China-U.S. relations,” she said.

The bill passed the U.S. House with bipartisan support, 413-3, on Tuesday. It proposes to require the White House to remove the extension of certain privileges to the three Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in the U.S. — in Washington, New York and San Francisco — if the city no longer enjoys a high degree of autonomy from China, and for other purposes.

Under the proposals, the U.S. secretary of state would need to determine whether the offices merit the privileges. If the answer is no, the offices would have to terminate their operations within 180 days after that determination is delivered to Congress.

Republican Representative Chris Smith, chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said in a statement that the act is a “necessary next step in tangibly demonstrating our solidarity with the persecuted citizens of Hong Kong."

Since Beijing imposed the 2020 security law to quell months of huge anti-government protests in 2019, authorities have arrested many leading pro-democracy activists, including Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai and former student leader Joshua Wong. Critics say the freedoms promised to remain intact for 50 years when the former British colony returned to China's rule in 1997 were drastically shrinking.

In response to the law, the U.S. previously deprived the territory of its preferential trading status and put sanctions on high-ranking Hong Kong officials. But Beijing and Hong Kong insist the law is necessary to bring back stability to the financial hub.

Anna Kwok, executive director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council, a Washington-based group advocating for the city's pro-democracy movement, said in a statement the bill was a much-needed response to hold the Hong Kong government accountable “for their blatant human rights abuses." Kwok was among a group of overseas-based activists targeted by Hong Kong police bounties.

Hong Kong has 14 overseas trade offices, aiming to strengthen economic, trade and cultural ties between the foreign territories and the city.

But they came under scrutiny when an office manager in its London branch along with two other men were charged in Britain for allegedly assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service in May.

Chinese authorities in both the U.K. and Hong Kong at that time criticized the charges brought by London authorities, saying they were the latest in a series of “groundless and slanderous” accusations that the British government has leveled against China.

Chen contributed from Washington, D.C.

FILE - China and Hong Kong flags are hung as the city marks China's national day in Hong Kong, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei, File)

FILE - China and Hong Kong flags are hung as the city marks China's national day in Hong Kong, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei, File)

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What we know about the suspect behind the German Christmas market attack

2024-12-21 20:26 Last Updated At:20:30

MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germany on Saturday was still in shock and struggling to understand the suspect behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg.

Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist, authorities said he has been living in Germany for two decades. He was arrested on site after plowing a black BMW into a Christmas market crowded with holiday shoppers Friday evening, killing at least five people and wounding about 200 others.

Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.

Taleb’s X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He also described himself as a former Muslim.

He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”

He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.

Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing could surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance towards Islamists — that really wasn’t on my radar."

On Saturday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters: “At this point, we can only say for sure that the perpetrator was evidently Islamophobic – we can confirm that. Everything else is a matter for further investigation and we have to wait.”

An image taken from a video shows police officers arresting a suspect after car drove into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (TNN/DPA via AP)

An image taken from a video shows police officers arresting a suspect after car drove into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (TNN/DPA via AP)

A person stands by flowers and candles placed outside St. John's Church near a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A person stands by flowers and candles placed outside St. John's Church near a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

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