ABSTRACT
Washington recognizes that Hong Kong is part of the sovereign territory of China and is a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong was a dependent territory of the United Kingdom. Taiwan is the territory governed by the Republic of China, which before New Year’s Day 1979 the United States recognized as the government of China. The Trump administration spokespersons are consistent in the way they define the terms ‘free’ and ‘open’. When it comes to Hong Kong, it is fortunate that Kurt Tong, the United States (US) Consul General in Hong Kong gave a rather extensive speech on 27 February 2019 on the subject of ‘Hong Kong’s Role in the Indo-Pacific Economy’. The American business community might lobby Congress on Hong Kong’s significance for their own interests. The divergence between the US security and economic agencies creates a fundamental contradiction in the administration’s Taiwan policy.
