GOP senator calls for China boycott as Hong Kong rages

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Americans should boycott Chinese products in response to the intensifying political crisis in Hong Kong, a Republican lawmaker urged amid rumors Beijing is ready to use military force to shut down protests.

“American taxpayers cannot continue to support China’s aggression, and must start supporting American businesses over Chinese products,” Florida Sen. Rick Scott said Tuesday. “This is about protecting human rights.”

Scott’s call is the latest sign of congressional frustration with China, as lawmakers have threatened to review federal legislation that eases trade relations with Hong Kong if the mainland Chinese government backs an even more brutal crackdown. Such rebukes have angered Chinese officials, who maintain that the violence has stemmed from protesters’ acts of “terrorism.”

“I cannot help asking the relevant senators and House representatives: Are you lawmakers or law-breakers?” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Tuesday. “We solemnly remind you this plain truth: Hong Kong affairs are entirely China’s internal affairs, and you are neither entitled nor qualified to wantonly comment on them. Mind your own business and stay out of Hong Kong affairs.”

The protests were sparked by opposition to an extradition bill that would have allowed mainland authorities to seize fugitives in Hong Kong based on flimsy evidence. They have entered their 10th week, sustained by anger over savage police tactics and the refusal of Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam to kill the extradition bill, although she has agreed to suspend the effort to pass it.

“Hong Kong is seriously wounded,” Lam said Tuesday. “Let’s set aside differences and spend one minute to look at our city and our home. Could we bear to push it into an abyss where everything will perish?”

The Beijing-backed official made that appeal following days of protests at Hong Kong International Airport, which saw hundreds of flights canceled. Riot police moved into the airport Tuesday, and protesters reportedly harassed two mainland Chinese citizens there, accusing one of them of being a Communist spy. The clashes came on the heels of Hong Kong police disguising themselves as protesters to arrest demonstrators, an elaborate operation that included firing nonlethal weapons at dangerously close range.

U.S. lawmakers have threatened to revoke the federal law that gives Hong Kong special status for purposes of trade and economic ties if the crackdown worsens.

“Right now, China is attempting to put an end to the prosperity and remaining political freedom of Hong Kong,” Scott said. “The United States, and all the freedom-loving nations around the world, must stand ready to swiftly move to defend freedom if China escalates the conflict in Hong Kong.”

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