Pompeo announced the decision a few hours after China in turn restricted visas to certain Americans for Hong Kong.
Washington:
The United States announced on Monday that it is ending the export of sensitive military items to Hong Kong, no longer treating the financial center separately from China.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States is taking the action because of China’s push for a security law which, according to Hong Kong activists, will restrict the city’s freedoms.
“We can no longer distinguish between the export of controlled items to Hong Kong or to mainland China,” said Pompeo in a statement.
“We cannot risk these items falling into the hands of the People’s Liberation Army, whose main objective is to maintain the CCP dictatorship by any means necessary,” he said, referring to the Party Chinese Communist.
The State Department will end all exports to Hong Kong on its controlled list – from items ranging from advanced munitions to military equipment that already require the green light from the administration and Congress.
The Commerce Department will in turn cease to make a distinction between Hong Kong and China on so-called dual-use American products, which have both military and civilian applications – and are very limited when sought after by Beijing.
Pompeo announced the decision a few hours after China in turn restricted visas to certain Americans for Hong Kong.
The U.S. has led a global scandal over a security bill that would ban subversion and other perceived crimes in Hong Kong, to which Beijing has promised autonomy before it is returned to the territory of Britain in 1997.
“It is no pleasure to take this step, which is a direct result of Beijing’s decision to violate its own commitments under the Sino-British Joint Declaration registered with the United Nations,” said Pompeo.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
