A statement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledges that Hong Kong can no longer be considered autonomous. A confluence of events has made this possible. Every other country in a position to have exerted any kind of influence has been preoccupied with its own coronavirus predicament. The pandemic dampened the resistance fervor within Hong Kong itself, and proved a useful tool for the CCP to use to quell unrest.
This new security law that the Chinese Communist Party has imposed on Hong Kong is quite open-ended. "Sedition, foreign influence and secession" can and no doubt will be interpreted widely.
Given Hong Kong's status as a major financial center, this is sure to change the economic dynamic for the Pacific rim and around the globe.
China will surely be emboldened now regarding its relationship with Taiwan and South China Sea territorial claims currently disputed by the Philippines, Vietnam and other southeast Asian nations.
It's time for not only Western governments but businesses as well to reconsider the footing on which they engage China. Quite obviously, US corporations can't uproot their supply chains overnight, but planning for shifts to countries that don't constitute a blatant threat, which China has unmistakably shown itself to be, needs to start. The US government needs to shore up its alliances in China's neighborhood, and increase its naval presence in the region's international waters.
History is a funny thing. One day, a nation that the world had long been treating as problematic but essential in the shaping of the world-stage dynamic confirms the world's worst fears and shows that it is indeed a rogue element and nobody's idea of a responsible partner in the search for stability.
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