The US owes the people of Hong Kong an explanation

The article argues that Washington should explain why it allowed its Hong Kong emergency declaration to lapse, after years of presenting sanctions and the withdrawal of special trading treatment as a response to Beijing’s erosion of the city’s autonomy. It says the unexplained shift risks abandoning Hong Kong’s pro-democracy supporters and undermining the credibility of US commitments to human rights and the rule of law.

The 2020 measures followed Beijing’s national security law, which was imposed after the 2019 protests and has been used against activists, including jailed media owner Jimmy Lai. Although the US says the underlying executive order remains in force and many sanctions continue under another law, China has portrayed the lapse as fulfilment of trade-talk commitments; the article contends that this ambiguity requires a clear public account.