'China broke promise to Great Britain that it'd keep Hong Kong free': Trump signs order

In a significant development in an action against the draconian Hong Kong National Security Law, United States President Donald Trump has signed Hong Kong Autonomy Act and related executive orders to hold China and others accountable for their efforts to stifle the freedom and safety of the people of Hong Kong. The executive order ends the preferential treatment given by the US to Hong Kong with which, Hong Kong will be considered just as mainland China with massive tariffs and trade restrictions by the US.

“We’ve all watched what happened. Not a good situation,” Trump said during a press conference from the White House Rose Garden. “Their freedom has been taken away. Their rights have been taken away. And with it, goes to Hong Kong in my opinion, because it will no longer be able to compete with free markets. A lot of people will be leaving Hong Kong I suspect and we are going to do a lot more business because of it because we just lost one competitor," he added.

"China has violated its longstanding obligations on the issue, reversing Hong Kong’s status as a free society and endangering its innocent residents. These actions are a blatant violation of China’s promise to Great Britain that it would keep Hong Kong free and open until the year 2047," a statement from the White House said.

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Pompeo elaborates on Trump order

Elaborating on the signing of Trump's order in the wake of the Hong Kong political upheaval, the US Secretary of the State, Mike Pompeo said, "Over the past two weeks, the world has watched as the Chinese Communist Party smothers Hong Kong’s freedom. In 1984, China promised the United Kingdom and the Hong Kong people in front of the world that it would keep Hong Kong free and open and maintain its high degree of autonomy until the year 2047.  With the draconian national security legislation that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong, which allows mainland China’s security services to operate with impunity in Hong Kong, China has broken that promise, as it has so many others."

"In response to Beijing’s broken promises, President Donald Trump has taken steps to end Hong Kong’s preferential treatment and announced the United States will place a special focus on the admission of Hong Kong residents as refugees. We stand with the Hong Kong people," he added.

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Hong Kong National Security Law imposed by China

As the autocratic Chinese Government introduced the law, it has received widespread criticism on the international fora. This unilateral decision by the Chinese communist regime has deeply concerned the International community and countries such as the US, Canada, Australia and the UK opposed the decision of China to impose the security law in Hong Kong. The countries promoting democracy are raising the Hong Kong crisis in all possible forums, in a way pressurising the autocratic Chinese regime to rescind the law.

The opposition politicians have criticised the national security law calling it a means to suppress dissent. With the introduction of the new law, critics are apprehensive that it would undermine the principle of "one country, two systems", eventually leading to the decimation of Hong Kong's autonomy stated under the Sino-British joint declaration of 1997.