Political leaders around the world have decried Beijing’s move to impose a tough national security law on Hong Kong that allows mainland Chinese authorities to crack down on subversive activity and protest in the semi-autonomous territory.
FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2019, file photo, demonstrators wave British flags during a rally outside the British Consulate in Hong Kong. From Tokyo to Brussels, political leaders have swiftly decried Beijing's move to impose a tough national security law on Hong Kong that cracks down on subversive activity and protest in the semi-autonomous territory. But the rhetoric from democratic nations has more bark than bite.
“The U.S.A. and EU are moving in different directions in many areas. It is perhaps to China’s advantage that that should be so,” said Rod Wye, an Asia-Pacific associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank in London. In particular, Europeans do not want to be drawn into the U.S.-China trade war, he said.
China routinely dismisses all such criticism as interference in its domestic affairs. One of the crimes in the Hong Kong security law explicitly outlaws receiving funding or support from overseas to disrupt lawmaking in Hong Kong or impose sanctions on the city. Steve Tsang, who directs the China Institute at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, said that if the EU were to join forces on the issue with the “Five Eyes” alliance — the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — the group would have real economic clout. The EU is China’s largest trading partner.
“It is not that China is trying to withstand pressure from the West, but it is that China’s own policies have achieved results,” Yu said. “China doesn’t need to care about pressure from the West.”
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