Will international pressure improve human rights in China?

The United States is taking the first steps to retaliate against a new security law in Hong Kong.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is imposing visa restrictions on Communist Party of China officials believed to be responsible for undermining human rights in the semi-autonomous city.

China says the law is needed to restore order after months of protests that turned violent at times.

It is bypassing Hong Kong’s legislature to push through the measure to ban so-called acts of subversion and terrorism, and for the first time to allow Beijing to set up a security office in the territory.

China’s embassy in Washington, DC has urged the US to “immediately correct its mistake”.

The United Nations and the European Union have expressed concerns about deteriorating human rights in Hong Kong, as well as abuses against minorities in China’s Xinjiang territory and Tibet.

But will the international pressure on Beijing lead to changes?

Presenter: Imran Khan

Guests:

Victor Gao – chairman and professor at Soochow University

Adam Ni – director of the China Policy Centre based in Australia

Raffaello Pantucci – senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute