The United States is only calling on China to honor a treaty that it signed when Britain gave up Hong Kong several years ago. If we sign a trade deal we must be able to ensure China honoring the treaty.
There was no need for this resolution by Congress. It was purposefully designed to put Trump in a tight spot and derail the trade talks.
True, but the Chinese Communist Party will only honor a treaty as long as it serves the Party’s interests.
This bill increases the cost of breaking the treaty, but only slightly. In my opinion, the Party will tolerate instability in Hong Kong as long as they can use it. Use the demonstrations to illustrate the “chaotic” and “dangerous” conditions created when the Party is not firmly in control.
However, if the demonstrations begin to undermine, however slightly, the Party’s control over the mainland, they will crush them without a second thought. International condemnation and a few hundred or a few thousand dead demonstrators is a small price to pay for maintaining Party domination.