Hong Kong’s Carrie Lam slams US’ ‘hegemonic’ bills aimed at closing city’s trade offices

Hong Kong’s previous chief executive has slammed the United States for “flexing its hegemonic muscle” with two bills that could close the city’s trade offices, while calling on all public administrators to ramp up governance capabilities to manage the city’s local challenges.

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who was city leader from 2017 to 2022, said on Friday that the rise of protectionism and worsening US-China relations had brought uncertainty to regional economic development, with congressional bills targeting Hong Kong’s outposts in New York, Washington DC and San Francisco being the latest example.

“The US once again flexed its hegemonic muscle a few days ago when the House of Representatives passed two bills that could affect our three offices in the US and deprive them of their special privileges,” she told a seminar held by the newly established public policy school at Chinese University’s Shenzhen campus.

“These behaviours will harm others without benefiting themselves. I hope the US government and politicians realise the measures are not good for the American business community or the exchanges between the two places.”

The bipartisan Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Certification Act, which is likely to clear the US Senate, would require the US secretary of state to review the city’s three American trade missions and strip them of privileges if they were found to operate without a “high degree of autonomy” from the People’s Republic of China.

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