China to freeze assets of five U.S. officials over Hong Kong affairs
Photo: Tyrone Siu / Reuters
China has threatened to impose sanctions on five US officials it has accused of supporting the opposition in Hong Kong. Americans are prohibited from owning Chinese assets, and entry into the country is closed, reports the Global Times. The imminent introduction of the ban was announced by the official representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian.
Among those who will fall under the sanctions are prominent figures in US-China relations. In particular, this is the former head of the executive commission of the US Congress on China Jonathan Stivers, the former US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, the head of the Commission of the Congress on the analysis of relations between China and the United States in the field of economy and security Carolyn Bartholomew, an employee of the National Democratic Institute Doyun Kim ( Doyun Kim) and the head of the Chinese program of the International Republican Institute, Adam King. For the first time, they started talking about sanctions against them back in the summer.
In addition to the ban on entry and freezing of assets, the Americans will also be prohibited from doing business with Chinese citizens and companies, to conduct any financial transactions with them. China saw it as a retaliation for US sanctions in July when Washington imposed restrictions on Chinese officials in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has long been a city independent from China, ruled first by the British colonial administration and then by independent local authorities. However, in 2019, Beijing began to bring the city's governance system up to common Chinese standards. A particular aggravation of relations on the “Hong Kong issue” between China and the United States began after the adoption in 2020 by Beijing of the National Security Law, which allowed the Chinese authorities to actively fight the opposition in the city. In addition, in early 2021, the National People's Congress changed Hong Kong's electoral system.
In China, they consider the course taken to integrate the city into the political system, by analogy with the rest of the PRC, “the only correct one.” On December 27, director of the Hong Kong Research Center, Wang Zhenming, endorsed the actions of the Chinese Communist Party.
