Beijing has decided to sanction individuals in the US as retaliation for Washington’s recent measures against six Chinese officials in Hong Kong.
China is targeting members of the US Congress, government officials, and NGO leaders “who have acted egregiously regarding Hong Kong-related issues,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun announced during a regular briefing on Monday. He described the move as a rebuke to American “interference” in the affairs of the autonomous city.
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 government has yet to disclose the specific persons targeted by the new restrictions.
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.
Tensions between the US and China are currently high in the face of new tariffs introduced by the Trump administration on imported goods from a variety of countries. China, widely seen as the primary target of the measures, has refused to make concessions and has urged other nations to resist US pressure.
In addition to commercial disputes, Washington and Beijing are at odds over Taiwan, a self-governing Chinese island that relies on the US for its defense. While China advocates peaceful reunification, it has warned that any attempt to declare formal independence could trigger armed conflict. China contends that certain elements within the US government are pushing Taiwan toward this outcome.
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