Hong Kong's foreign relations and defense are the responsibility of China. China has granted Hong Kong considerable autonomy in economic and commercial relations. Hong Kong continues to be an active, independent member of the
World Trade Organization (WTO) and the [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]
? (APEC) forum.
Disputes - international:
none
Illicit drugs:
One of many hubs for the Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and money-laundering center; increasing indigenous amphetamine abuse. In recent years the Chinese goverment has sentenced several narco-traffikers to death, but human rights activists suspect that anti-drugs policy is sometimes being used as an excuse to imprison those opposed to the goverment (this is not unique to Hong Kong - similar reports of drugs legislation abuse have come from many Asian countries).