HONG KONG (AP) – The US has approved another 24 Chinese and Hong Kong officials for the ongoing fight against Beijing against political freedoms in the semi-autonomous city, just before the Biden administration’s first personal talks with China.
The move reflects Washington’s deep concern over the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy following changes to its electoral system endorsed by China’s ceremonial legislature last week, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
Foreign financial institutions dealing with the 24 officials will be under U.S. sanctions, the State Department said.
The planned changes to the Hong Kong Electoral Act gives a pro-Beijing committee the power to appoint more of Hong Kong’s legislators. The move will reduce the share of those directly elected and ensure that only those determined to be loyal to Beijing may act, thus effectively excluding opposition figures from outside the political process.
The US announcement was made during a visit by Blinken and Defense Minister Lloyd Austin to Japan and South Korea, both of whom are wary of China’s growing economic, military and political levy.
The imposition of new sanctions’ reveals the US side’s sinister intention to interfere in China’s domestic affairs, to disrupt Hong Kong and impede China’s stability and development, “said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. affairs, told reporters on Wednesday during a daily briefing.
“China will take strong measures as appropriate to resolutely defend national sovereignty, security and development interests,” Zhao said.
While in Tokyo, the Blinken and Austin issued a joint statement with their Japanese counterparts expressing concern about Beijing’s human rights violations in the West Xinjiang region against ethnic minorities and China’s determination to change the status of a group of uninhabited islands governed by Tokyo but by Beijing assert. The two arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for talks.
On Thursday, Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan were scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Chinese ruling Communist Party Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Anchorage, Alaska.
The White House set low expectations for the meeting. A senior official, who informed reporters on condition of anonymity, said the two parties would not make a joint statement and that no major announcements were expected.
The US said Thursday’s meeting would be a first opportunity to address intense differences over trade and human rights in Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang as well as the coronavirus pandemic. .
While President Joe Biden has sought to alleviate the harsh tone his predecessor adopted with China, it appears that his government is committed to tackling the issues strictly.
China has rejected all criticism of its policies towards Hong Kong, accusing foreign governments of interfering and saying political intensification is needed after months of protests against the government in 2019.
Last June, Beijing imposed a comprehensive national security law on the city and Hong Kong authorities arrested most prominent pro-democracy supporters and outspoken critics. Many others fled abroad and this week recalled that members of the Hong Kong diaspora must continue the struggle for freedoms promised to the city after the end of the British colonial government in 1997.
Among those included in the sanctions are Wang Chen, a member of the elite 25-member Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, and Tam Yiu-chung, the delegate from Hong Kong to the standing committee of the Chinese parliament, who drafted the law on national security.
Several officers from the Hong Kong National Security Division were also approved, including Li Kwai-wah, a senior superintendent, as well as Edwina Lau, a deputy commissioner of the Hong Kong Police Force and the head of the division.
As of October last year, the US has already approved ten officials, including Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and Hong Kong deputy director Zhang Xiaoming. Sanctions prohibit their trip to the US and block their transactions with US financial institutions.
Lam said in a television interview in November last year that the sanctions meant she received her salary in cash and had “lots of money” at home because she was cut off from banking services in Hong Kong.
Chinese officials have shaken off the impact of sanctions, with some calling their appointment a point of pride in what they see as an attempt to undermine Chinese control in Hong Kong and its rise as a rival to the US.
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Associated Press author Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.