The tension between Washington and Beijing and U.S. continues to heighten as lawmakers seek to hold China accountable for their new national security law.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he signed into law a bipartisan bill that sanctions Chinese officials who undermine the rights to free speech and assembly in Hong Kong, the latest escalation in an increasingly hostile relationship between Washington and Beijing.
"This law gives my administration powerful new tools to hold responsible the individuals and the entities involved in extinguishing Hong Kong’s freedom," Trump said at a press conference in the Rose Garden Tuesday evening.
"We’ve all watched what happened, not a good situation. Their freedom's been taken away, their rights have been taken away, and with it goes Hong Kong and, my opinion, because it will no longer be able to compete with free markets," Trump continued, predicting that "a lot of people will be leaving Hong Kong, I suspect."