US President Donald Trump Signs Law on Human Rights and Democracy in Hong Kong on Thursday.
Trump also signed a law banning the supply of police equipment to this special administrative region of the PRC.
“I signed these laws out of respect for President Xi (Jinping), China and the people of Hong Kong. We resort to them in the hope that the leaders and representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to peacefully resolve their differences, which will lead to long-term peace and prosperity for all”, – the document says.
The law provides for an annual review of trade relations with Hong Kong, depending on the degree of its autonomy, as well as sanctions against those responsible for human rights violations in Hong Kong.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, in turn, threatened the United States with countermeasures. The Hong Kong government also expressed a protest against the decision of the American administration, which considered the bills to be interference in internal affairs, which could only “harm the relations and interests of the United States and Hong Kong”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the approval of this bill by the US Congress, calling it a gross interference in the internal affairs of China.
Mass protests provoked by the consideration of the extradition bill have been held in Hong Kong since early June. During this time, the police detained almost 4,500 people, the youngest of whom was 11 years old. More than one and a half thousand people were hospitalized due to injuries on the streets, more than 400 policemen were injured.
After large-scale protests, Hong Kong authorities made concessions, and in early October, the bill was completely withdrawn. However, the protests did not stop, but became more fierce. In recent days, protesters have changed tactics and began to occupy university campuses. For safety reasons, all schools are closed. Hong Kong is experiencing a transport collapse, the demonstrators moved from thousands of processions to blocking roads, tunnels and bridges.