Secretary of State Antony Blinken blacklisted seven Chinese officials for their role in the crackdown on Hong Kong, as the mainland communist regime vowed to retaliate against dissidents and the United States.
“Beijing has chipped away at Hong Kong’s reputation of accountable, transparent governance and respect for individual freedoms and has broken its promise to leave Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy unchanged for 50 years,” Blinken said Friday. “In the face of Beijing’s decisions over the past year that have stifled the democratic aspirations of people in Hong Kong, we are taking action.”
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Blinken’s sanctions target list was filled with officials at the mainland regime’s liaison office in Hong Kong, who were blacklisted to mark the first anniversary of Beijing’s adoption of a national security law that expanded Chinese Communist control over Hong Kong. Chinese officials declared their “contempt” for that punishment earlier Friday while airing a new threat against the democracy activists in the former British colony.
“I also warn the politicians of the United States and the European Parliament that they have grossly trampled on international law and interfered in our country’s internal affairs by imposing meaningless sanctions on us,” the Chinese State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office chief, Xia Baolong, said at a forum celebrating the anniversary of the national security law. “This will only arouse more of our anger and contempt for you and sound the death knell for your agents in Hong Kong.”
The dueling diplomatic messages Friday took aim at multinational businesses that drop anchor in Hong Kong, as mainland China hopes to continue to reap the benefits that Hong Kong’s powerhouse economy provided in recent decades. American officials, however, regard the national security law as the destruction of the “one country, two systems” policy that underpinned the U.S. decision to grant Hong Kong special economic status under American law.
“Businesses, individuals, and other persons … that operate in Hong Kong, or have exposure to sanctioned individuals or entities, should be aware of changes to Hong Kong’s laws and regulations,” a business advisory issued by the U.S. government on Friday warns. “As a result of these changes, they should be aware of potential reputational, regulatory, financial, and, in certain instances, legal risks associated with their Hong Kong operations.”
Xia, the head of China’s Hong Kong affairs office, insisted that business is good. “The law has given international investors reassurance, and Hong Kong’s status as a financial center has not been compromised in the slightest,” he said.
British officials declared Beijing’s overhaul of the territory’s elections process “a clear breach” of the deal that they struck with Beijing before the United Kingdom relinquished sovereignty over Hong Kong, but Chinese officials insist that the “one country, two systems” model remains in place.
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“China will respond strongly to possible US measures,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Friday.
