Donald Trump Moves To Strip Hong Kong Of 'Special Treatment'

In an ongoing dispute with China over its imperialist move on Hong Kong, US President Donald Trump has warned that country would lose its special privileges accorded to it by the US, while also barring some Chinese graduate students into universities in the US.

At the UN Security Council, the United States and the UK raised concerns regarding China's security law on the financial hub, Hong Kong, with China stating that the issue had no business being discussed at the council.

Trump described China's move on Hong Kong as “diminishing the city’s longstanding and proud status."

Adding that “This is a tragedy for the people of Hong Kong, the people of China and indeed the people of the world."

He also stated, during a brief media chat at the White House that the United States would be severing ties with the WHO over its poor management of the pandemic and China's involvement in the cover-up of the outbreak leading to the outbreak becoming a global pandemic.

Speaking on the issue of removing any special privileges of Hong Kong, Trump said that his administration was working to eliminate any "policy that gives Hong Kong different and special treatment.

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“I am directing my administration to begin the process of eliminating policy that gives Hong Kong different and special treatment.

“This will affect the full range of agreements, from our extradition treaty to our export controls on dual-use technologies and more, with few exceptions."

Restriction of Students

Trump said that graduate students who have any connection to the Chinese military would also be banned from entering US universities.

He explained, “For years, the government of China has conducted illicit espionage to steal our industrial secrets, of which there are many."

One thousand cases of Chinese espionage have been investigated by the FBI, as disclosed by the bureau in February, with members of the Republican party demanding the ejection of Chinese students in sensitive fields in US schools.

The move by the party to expel foreign students from US schools will pose as a detriment to the universities, as they partly depend on the fees paid by foreign students.

Democrats have accused Trump of trying to "shift the blame" of his "failure" on China

Democratic member, Eliot Engel said, “Now, the president wants to shift the blame for his failures onto China, so he’s doing the right thing for the wrong reason."

While another member of the Democratic party described Trump's move as "pathetic."

Hong Kong's chief of security, John Lee said, “Sanctions are not always unilateral and our country (China) has said that we will roll out countermeasures."

Britain, US VS China

The United States and the UK, in a private videoconference at the UN Security Council called for China's reconsideration of the security law on Hong Kong, adding that China was in violation of the 1984 handover agreement with Britain, where China agreed to keep Hong Kong separate until the year 2047.

US Ambassador said of the matter, “The United States is resolute, and calls upon all UN members states to join us in demanding that the PRC immediately reverse course and honor its international legal commitments to this institution and to the Hong Kong people."

China has asked that the US and the UK “immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs."

It also added that “Any attempt to use Hong Kong to interfere in China’s internal matters is doomed to fail,” warned a statement from China’s UN mission.

“There was no consensus, no formal discussion in the Security Council, and the US and the UK’s move came to nothing."