The United States is introducing sanctions on several Chinese officials over the crackdown on Hong Kong.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Monday that 14 vice chairpersons of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee would be punished for their roles in implementing the city’s new “national security” law and dismantling its Legislative Council.
All 14 officials and their immediate families will be barred from entering the U.S. In addition, any assets they may have under U.S. jurisdiction will be blocked, and U.S. citizens will “generally” be prohibited from dealing with them, Pompeo said.
“Our actions today underscore that the United States will continue to work with our allies and partners to hold Beijing accountable for undermining Hong Kong’s promised autonomy,” Pompeo said.
Several other top officials, including Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, have already been sanctioned for their roles in the controversy.
In late June, China implemented what it called the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. That law criminalized acts of secession, subversion, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism with sentences of up to life in prison.
As the law was written so vaguely, authorities have been able to use it to limit dissidents.
In mid-November, the NPCSC passed a law allowing authorities to remove members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council deemed to be in violation of the national security law, bypassing the local court system. Not long after the law passed, four members of the Legislative Council were removed. In solidarity, 15 pro-democracy legislators in Hong Kong resigned their positions, leaving no full-fledged members of their coalition in the body.
“Beijing’s unrelenting assault against Hong Kong’s democratic processes has gutted its Legislative Council, rendering the body a rubber stamp devoid of meaningful opposition,” Pompeo said.
In 1997, the United Kingdom returned Hong Kong to Chinese control under the assurance that the city would maintain a high degree of autonomy for 50 years. Western countries have largely seen these intrusions as a violation of that agreement.
Pompeo concluded his statement by writing, “The United States again urges Beijing to abide by its international commitments and to heed the voices of many countries, which have condemned its actions.”
