US expects China to review Hong Kong policy in next 2 weeks: State Department

The United States expects China to make some changes in its policy pertaining to Hong Kong, "in the next week or two", Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell said on Friday.

The United States expects China to make some changes in its policy pertaining to Hong Kong, "in the next week or two", Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell said on Friday. "I am not saying there was an agreement, but we made very clear our position, so we will see in the next week or two or however long it takes if they begin to live up to their commitments," said Stilwell.

"We are looking forward to the reconsideration of the domestic security legislation, national security legislation that they are imposing on Hong Kong," he added. This remark comes following the talks in Hawaii between US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Yang Jiechi. Pompeo and Jiechi had discussed disagreement between the two countries several issues including that on Hong Kong, South China Morning Post reported.

The Hong Kong security bill that was introduced earlier this month has sparked domestic protests and was received with international criticism despite both Beijing and Hong Kong's leadership maintaining that they have the full right to implement the legislation. On Thursday, Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) member countries issued a joint statement strongly urging China to reconsider its decision to impose national security legislation on Hong Kong.

"The proposed national security law would risk seriously undermining the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle and the territory's high degree of autonomy. It would jeopardize the system which has allowed Hong Kong to flourish and made it a success over many years," the foreign ministers G7 of said in the statement. 

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