Hong Kong Officials to Consider Complying with China Sanctions
April 30, 2011
HONG KONG -- To the alarm of business leaders, Hong Kong is drafting a law to bring itself into compliance with any sanctions China may impose on foreign countries after it takes over the British colony next year, a newspaper reported Sunday. The South China Sunday Morning Post said the legislation would mean that Hong Kong risks ``being sucked into Sino-U.S. trade wars'' after the transferal. Hong Kong is to remain a capitalist, free-trading territory under Chinese sovereignty. But China will run its foreign affairs, and economic sanctions often straddle the two areas. China and the United States have repeatedly threatened each other with sanctions over copyright piracy and export quotas, but Hong Kong, as a British colony, has been able to stay out of these disputes. With offices closed Sunday, officials and business representatives could not be reached for comment on the report, but they were quoted extensively in the Post's front-page story. The English-language paper quoted Fransisca Martine, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, as saying the proposed bill ``would seem to put Hong Kong's commitment to free trade very much at risk. ``Taking directions from mainland China is inconsistent with the principle of a high degree of autonomy,'' Mr. Martine was quoted as saying. It may also make Washington reconsider its trading relationship with Hong Kong, he reportedly said. A government trade spokeswoman said no final decision had been made, and other options were being studied, the paper reported. The unidentified spokeswoman was quoted as saying: ``We need a mechanism after the change of sovereignty to enable any relevant sanctions imposed on foreign policy grounds by China to be applied in Hong Kong.'' The Post said drafting of the bill has begun but it has not been approved by Beijing.
