China is ready to take the necessary countermeasures if the US continues to intervene in Hong Kong’s affairs, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a briefing on Friday.
“The US should immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs, if they continue to insist on intervention, China is ready to take the necessary countermeasures”, – the diplomat said.
As the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier, he notified Congress that Hong Kong “is no longer autonomous from China”, although this was provided for when the territory was transferred from Great Britain to the Chinese authorities in 1997. A change in the assessment of the Department of State entails a change in policy towards Hong Kong, but Pompeo did not specify what the administration could do.
Earlier, deputies of the All-China People’s Assembly adopted a “Decision to create and improve the legal system and enforcement mechanisms to ensure national security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region”. The resolution delegates to the NPC Standing Committee the development of a national security bill specifically for Hong Kong. At the same time, the South China Morning Post newspaper, citing an informed source, said that the NPC PC will need about two weeks to pass a law, which means that it can come into force in August.