China has levied sanctions against individuals in the United States as retaliation for Washington’s recent measures against six Chinese officials in Hong Kong. Beijing is targeting individuals in the U.S. ruling class “who have acted egregiously regarding Hong Kong-related issues,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.
The Chinese diplomat described the move as a rebuke to American “interference” in the affairs of the autonomous city.
According to a report by RT, in late March, the US State Department accused Beijing of using its laws to “intimidate, silence, and harass 19 pro-democracy activists” in Hong Kong, forcing them to leave the territory. The US imposed sanctions on those it deems responsible, including Hong Kong Secretary of Justice Paul Lam and five security-related officials.
The Chinese ruling class has not yet named those within the U.S. who will be targeted with the sanctions.
Hong Kong operates under a legal and political framework shaped by its 156 years of British rule, which concluded in 1997. Throughout the 2010s, the city experienced multiple waves of violent protests, which activists claimed were a response to Beijing’s encroachments on traditional freedoms, culminating in the unrest of 2019.
Beijing alleges that those events were orchestrated by Western powers seeking to undermine Chinese sovereignty. In response, the national government passed a new security law in 2020, granting local authorities more power to address security threats. The legislation drew condemnation from the US and other Western nations, which claim it violates the terms of Hong Kong’s handover to China. –RT
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