The United States on Friday increased threats to strip Hong Kong of special trade privileges as it sparked anger from Western nations over China's brazen assault on territory autonomy.
US lawmakers are pushing for tough action on Hong Kong, which has become the latest front in mounting tensions between Washington and Beijing, but even some supporters of the territory's democratic movement are asking if the "nuclear option" would be effective. .
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a proposed national security law, tabled before the Chinese rubber stamp legislature on Friday, would be a "death sentence for the high degree of autonomy that Beijing promised Hong Kong."
The new law would impose penalties for "subversion" and other perceived crimes in the city, which was swept away by months of massive and occasionally violent pro-democracy protests last year.
In a show of support for protesters, last year the United States Congress overwhelmingly passed a law that would end Hong Kong's preferential access to trade to the world's largest economy if it no longer certifies that it enjoys autonomy, what Beijing promised before regaining control of the then British Colony in 1997.
Pompeo said the latest movements in Beijing would "inevitably" influence the State Department's decision.
"The United States Urges Beijing To Reconsider Its Disastrous Proposal, Comply With Its International Obligations, And Respect Hong Kong's High Degree Of Autonomy, Democratic Institutions And Civil Liberties, Which Are Key To Preserving Its Special Status Under American Law" Pompeo said in a statement.
From NDTV News
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