China’s top representative and Hong Kong’s leader took high shots at United States after Trump decided to put sanctions on them and other nine officials for allegedly cracking down on their freedom and undermining the local autonomy of the former British colony.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam took to Facebook to say that the U.S. got her speech wrong, listing the official address of her chief deputy instead. She noted that she was the deputy when she applied for her U.S. visa in 2016. Lam said: “By the way, my entry visa to the U.S. is valid until 2026. Since I have no desire to visit this country, it looks like I can take the initiative to cancel it”.
The sanctions, announced Friday by the U.S. Treasury Department, block all property or other assets that the individuals have within U.S. jurisdiction. Luo Huining, the director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, said being included on the list shows that he has done what he should for the city and his country. “I don’t have a penny of assets abroad. Isn’t it in vain to impose `sanctions’? Of course, I can also send 100 U.S. dollars to Mr. Trump for freezing,” he said in a statement on the office’s website.
Hong Kong Commerce Secretary Edward Yau, who wasn’t sanctioned, called the sanctions “unreasonable and barbarous” and said they would harm U.S. interests in the city, an Asian financial and shipping hub. Hong Kong has long appreciated civil liberties not seen in mainland China because it is governed under a so-called “one country, two systems” principle in place since it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.
However, Beijing forced a national security law on Hong Kong at the end of June, following months of anti-government protests last year. The new law forbids what Beijing views as secessionist, subversive or terrorist activities or what it sees as foreign intervention in Hong Kong’s internal affairs. Police now have sweeping powers to conduct searches without warrants and order internet service providers and platforms to remove messages deemed to be in violation of the legislation.
Critics see the law as Beijing’s boldest move yet to erase the divide between Hong Kong’s Western-style system and the mainland’s authoritarian way of governing.
It said that while national security is under the purview of the central government in any country, the new law authorizes local authorities in Hong Kong to be its main enforcer and specifies that human rights will be protected.
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