The possibility of any disruption to Hong Kong’s economic relations with the US is worrying. But despite hawkish rhetoric and the passage of the Human Rights and Democracy act, there is considerable goodwill in the US towards Hong Kong

Protesters hold up a US flag at an anti-government rally in Hong Kong on December 1 last year. Photo: AP

Last week, I attended a United States-Hong Kong dialogue in San Francisco hosted by the World Affairs Council, a non-partisan forum for exchange of ideas about international issues. The event brought together Executive Council members and opposition legislators of Hong Kong, as well as US officials including the consul general of Hong Kong and Macau and a State Department official for regional affairs.

The fact that all these participants managed to get together for several days during the coronavirus outbreak reflects the importance of the issues we were discussing. One hot topic on the agenda was US-Hong Kong economic relations.

Under the US-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, Washington treats Hong Kong as a separate jurisdiction from China for trade and investment purposes. If the US stops recognising Hong Kong's special trade status, there will be a major impact on economic relations between them. Any downgrading of Hong Kong's status could seriously harm the commercial interests of both Hong Kong and the US.

However, the city's trade status appears to be at risk after US President Donald Trump ratified the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act last year. This requires the US State Department to conduct an annual review of Hong Kong's autonomy, rule of law and special status. It also calls for sanctions against individuals the US believes are responsible for human rights transgressions in Hong Kong.

Under existing Magnitsky laws, the US government already has powers to impose sanctions on foreign offenders against human rights. But the possibility of any disruption to Hong Kong's relations with the US is very worrying. Also, the idea that individuals in Hong Kong might be subject to US sanctions has alarmed some people linked to the government " and excited several opposition activists, who have drawn up lists of names.

To be honest, I was slightly nervous before the dialogue began that I would be going before some sort of investigative committee.

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All the discussions were off the record, so I can't go into the specifics of who said what. But my fears of being interrogated were unfounded. My overall impression is that there is considerable goodwill in the US towards Hong Kong, and that we should not worry too much about the possibility of Washington downgrading economic relations.

Clearly, it is impossible to separate the subject of US-Hong Kong relations from the larger issue of trade and other frictions between the US and China today.

There are politicians in the US who are very hawkish towards China. Although the Human Rights and Democracy Act appears to be aimed at Hong Kong, it is in many ways an attempt by US lawmakers to put pressure on the executive branch to be tough on China as a whole.

However, in Hong Kong, enactment of the bill has stirred things up and deepened divisions within the community. Some people see it as an invitation to get sanctions imposed on individuals here. Others are angry at what they see as evidence that the US is meddling in Hong Kong's affairs.

We should also look at the wording of the Human Rights and Democracy Act. The section regarding sanctions against individuals refers to acts including "gross violations of internationally recognised human rights in Hong Kong". It sounds rather similar to the Global Magnitsky Act, which targets perpetrators of "extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognised human rights". This is a high threshold for culpability.

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The annual reviews of Hong Kong's autonomy required by the Human Rights and Democracy Act may attract attention. But there seems little reason to fear (or, for some people, hope!) that sanctions will be applied to local officials.

On the whole, I was relieved much of the dialogue in San Francisco reflected the need for continued good relations between the US and Hong Kong. Most participants realised that the US' commercial interests are very much tied up with Hong Kong's role in China, especially with regard to financial services and consumer markets.

Despite the hawkish rhetoric about US-China rivalry, there is broad recognition that all sides benefit from practical engagement and healthy economic relations.

Bernard Chan is convenor of Hong Kong's Executive Council

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