The US government sees China eroding Hong Kong's freedoms in violation of Beijing's "one country, two systems" commitment. For Americans, Hong Kong is a case of a powerful dictatorship forcing authoritarianism on a small and relatively free community, and also an instance of China disregarding an international commitment. Beijing sees Hong Kong as a haven for intolerably subversive ideas, and alleges that Washington is using Hong Kong as a tool to weaken China. The Trump Administration has levied sanctions against Chinese officials over the National Security Law and has several advisors pushing for a decoupling of the two economies.  Meanwhile the Biden-Harris team promises to make liberal values an important part of US foreign policy. Trump and Biden are competing to appear tough on China as part of their election campaign strategies. Hong Kong is one of the friction points in a rapidly deteriorating US-China relationship in the wake of the ongoing trade war and expulsion of journalists by both countries.

 

This is a special webinar developed in partnership with the South China Morning Post and will begin with an interactive discussion on the challenges of covering US-Hong Kong-China issues by media in both Hong Kong and the US. Then the discussion will broaden to include the impact of upcoming US elections on these relationships.