The Hong Kong extradition bill which sparked an immense protest during June of this year essentially
allowing China to extradite any criminal that is within Hong Kong territory. Pro-democracy activists in Hong
Kong have been consistently fighting for their democracy through escalating protests. This issue regarding
foreign policy has recently gained traction from multiple nations across the world, including the United States.
Throughout the course of the week, the United States House of Representatives have passed a “bicameral,
bipartisan, Hong Kong Human rights and democracy act”. The legislation would allow the United States to
annually review the Hong Kong autonomy while simultaneously allowing the president to pose sanctions and
travel restrictions on those who have violated said autonomy or the Sino-British Joint Declaration through the use of torture, forced confession, and arbitrary detention. Although the legislation has passed the House of Representatives, the Senate version of the legislation is still awaiting for the floor vote which may alter the act. President Trump must also remain silent regarding the issue as the high tension trade talks between the Chinese and the United States are currently in progress and if any bias towards Hong Kong is explicitly shown, the economy may suffer as a consequence.
1. If the bill does pass both the house and the senate, how do you think Trump will react? How about the reaction from China?
2. Do you believe the US should expand our foreign policy or should we hold ourselves back from conflicting interests from different nations? Why or why not? How would our interference with foreign interests affect the nation?
3. How does the bicameral decision to pass the Hong Kong Democracy Act reflect our nation's interests and politics?
1. Given Trump's signature on the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, I believe he is for Hong Kong's independence. As believed, China will not response positivity from this and could purse acts against the United States.- Erik
ReplyDelete2. The objective of foreign policy is to use diplomacy and solve international issues that do or don't involve us but could affect us in the long run. It keeps these issues from developing into conflicts that require our military. Therefore, our foreign policy should be extended to the point of where the US is still protected and we can help other nations solve conflict.
ReplyDelete1. I think Trump is in support of helping Hong Kong gain independence since having more democratic nations in the world will promote universal freedom and more allies for us. Countries with a democratic system are less likely to go to war and more likely to be economically stable and socially harmonious. China would oppose this because they have owned Hong Kong for awhile now and they are not in favor of democratic systems.
ReplyDelete1. I think that Trump's reaction will be a toss up. I am not sure that Trump will be able to pass up an opportunity to antagonize China but I also think he would have a hard time antagonizing them based on the trade war that with China that needs to be resolved. Ideally, Trump would be able to support this legislation and democracy in Hong Kong while keeping relations with China in our favor. Ultimately, I believe that's what Trump will try to do: antagonize China and win the trade war. While Trump has his flaws, I believe he sees the validity in the protests in China and he is pro-democracy. I believe the US's support of Hong Kong can help the be pulled in to democracy and our head of state supporting it will help a lot.
ReplyDelete1. I think Trump will be in support of Hong Kong’s independence, as he supported the “Hong Kong Human rights and Democracy Act”. However, he will also want to try and keep economic relations with China in our favor, which could be tricky. I believe he will try and do both of these things at the same time, but prioritize Hong Kong’s independence.
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ReplyDelete#3 Since we often see strong partisan divisions on domestic issues, such as gun control or healthcare, it is easy to overlook the large amount of agreement on foreign policy issues from both parties. For instance, back in October when Trump pulled American troops out of Syria, the House voted 354-60 to condemn this decision. When it comes to our closest allies such as the UK, Japan, and South Korea, I think it is safe to say that the vast majority of Americans overwhelmingly support maintaining close relations with them. Similarly, most Americans also support adopting a more stringent position towards adversaries such as China and Russia. Granted, there have been quite a few instances of division in areas of foreign policy, most notably the wide variety of opinions on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
ReplyDelete2. I think with China, the US should be more aggressive with our foreign policy. China is clearly being aggressive with their foreign policy, whether that be expanding into the South China Sea or Africa. The US should reassert itself as the dominant nation on this earth, preferably by leading by example. Antagonizing China with a trade war is in my opinion not effective, we should instead expand our trade with other countries and encourage innovation within our own.
ReplyDelete1. If the bill passes through all of congress then I think trump would want to push it through. I believe that one of the only current issues that most of America can agree on is that we should take action against China. I think that China will very clearly act with isolation and hostility to this bill.
ReplyDeleteTrump will want to push it through to Congress because the bill appeals to him. There will be some pushback of course, but everyone deserves human rights and because we want to expand our foreign affairs this would be a good idea to pass them.
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