Is a new Cold War on the horizon? It might be triggered if China moves ahead with national security laws on the semi-autonomous “one city, two systems” Hong Kong.
In a recent interview with NBC News, White House National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien threatened to slap sanctions on Beijing if the rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress, approved “Establishment and Improvement of the Legal System and Implementation Mechanism for the Safeguarding of National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.”
China proposes to bypass Hong Kong’s legislature and impose these national security measures. Chinese officials defended the move, arguing that it is necessary to protect the public after last year’s demonstrations. But foreign critics warn that it would easily allow the government to jail opposition figures.
Hong Kong’s economic power could also be threatened, warned O’Brien.
“It’s hard to see how Hong Kong could remain the Asian financial center that it’s become if China takes over. If all those things go away, I’m not sure how the financial community can stay there. They’re not going to stay in Hong Kong to be dominated by the People’s Republic of China, the communist party,” he said.
With a second trade war lingering in the background and the U.S. applying financial pressure on Beijing, nothing good can come out of these renewed tensions. Also, China has been flexing its geopolitical power by slapping anti-dumping tariffs on Australia.
A new Cold War is an inevitability at this point.
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