Sanctions were about their role in implementing Hong Kong’s new national security law: Mike Pompeo
Washington:
The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on four other Chinese establishment officials in the Hong Kong government and security establishment for their alleged role in crushing dissent in the former British colony.
The US Department of Treasury and State identified the four as Deng Zhonghua, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Bureau; Edwina Lau, deputy commissioner of police in Hong Kong, and Li Jiangzhou and Li Kwai-wah, two officials from the new National Security Bureau in Hong Kong.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the sanctions relate to their role in implementing Hong Kong’s new national security law. He said they would be banned from traveling to the United States, and all US-related assets would be blocked.
“These actions underscore the determination of the United States to hold accountable key figures who actively eviscerate the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong and undermine the autonomy of Hong Kong,” he said in a statement.
None of the four could be reached immediately for comment.
Washington has called China’s enactment of a new national security law in Hong Kong this year an unacceptable violation of China’s “one country, two systems” commitment to what was once the freest city in the world. China.
The designations are the first sanctions imposed on China since Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in the U.S. election last week. Biden is due to take office on January 20. Trump has so far refused to concede defeat.
In actions heralding a more authoritarian era for Hong Kong, China opened a new national security bureau in July, a week after imposing new national security legislation to punish what it called crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces until life in prison.
Last month, the US State Department warned international financial institutions doing business with those held responsible for China’s crackdown in Hong Kong that they could soon face stiff penalties.
Washington imposed sanctions on Carrie Lam, the territory’s current and former police chiefs and other senior officials in August for what it said was their role in restricting freedoms in a crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in the United States. territory.
Relations between the United States and China, the world‘s two largest economies, have plunged to the lowest point in decades ahead of last week’s U.S. election. The two sides disagree on a wide range of issues, including China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and its treatment of Hong Kong.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
