HONG KONG – The Chinese and Hong Kong governments criticized Washington on Saturday after the United States imposed sanctions on founder Carrie Lam and other officials, dismissing the movement as “clowning actions” targeting the Chinese people would not intimidate.
The Hong Kong government said the sanctions were “shameless and contemptible” and represented a “blatant and barbaric” interference in China’s internal affairs, warning that Hong Kong was being used as a “pawn” in US-China relations.
The Trump administration announced Friday that it would impose sanctions on Lam and Luo Huining, the head of China’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong, along with nine other current and former officials accusing Washington of restricting political freedoms after the imposition of a draconian new security law in June.
“The unscrupulous intentions of the American politicians to support the anti-China chaos in Hong Kong have been made public, and their clowning actions are truly ridiculous,” the China Liaison Office said in a statement.
“Intimidation and threats can not scare the Chinese people.”
Luo, the most senior mainland political official in Hong Kong who took the position earlier this year, said U.S. sanctions indicated he was doing what he would “do for my country and Hong Kong.”
Lam spoke at a media conference in July before sanctions were imposed on her – and where she announced the postponement of elections due to the deteriorating coronavirus situation – Lam said she would “laugh” at any sanctions against her.
“As far as I am concerned, I have no assets in the United States, nor do I long to move to the United States, so it is still logical or reasonable for the sanctioning proposal,” she said.
The sanctions will secure all U.S. assets of the 11 officials and they will ban the company from operating in the country while hindering Americans from doing their business.
“The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong and we will use our tools and authorities to target those who undermine their autonomy,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement Friday.
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Hong Kong’s new security law has drawn condemnation from the US and other Western governments, many of which have resulted in extradition treaties with Hong Kong.
Critics of the law say it guaranteed basic freedoms when Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, while supporters say it is restoring stability after a year of often violent irregular anti-government.
Hong Kong authorities have since issued arrests for six pro-democracy activists who have fled the city.
The issue has contributed to a widening of Sino-US relations, including penalties for trade, the coronavirus and disputes over the South China Sea.
On Wednesday, the Chinese ambassador to the US said that Beijing did not want to see a Cold War break out between the two powers, and urged both to work to repair relations under “unusual” tensions.
Earlier this week, President Trump gave an executive order prompting U.S. companies to do business with ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the popular short-video game, TikTok.
The order will also apply to the messaging app, WeChat, which is widely used in East Asia and among overseas Chinese as a medium for financial transactions, games and retail services – it is owned by one of China’s largest tech companies , Tencent.
Trump’s mandate, which blew up Chinese state media like a “smash and grab” and warned of consequences, is set to take effect in 45 days.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Ed Flanagan contributed.
