HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday she was not too worried about US sanctions against her, but the Chinese government will complain to the World Trade Organization (WTO) about a new US demand for Hong Kong-made product.
The United States this month is imposing sanctions on Lam and other current and former Hong Kong and mainland officials who accuse Washington of restricting political freedom in the financial hub.
“Despite some inconvenience in my personal affairs, it’s nothing I would take to heart,” Lam told a weekly news conference.
“We will continue to do what is right for the country and for Hong Kong.”
The sanctions came in response to China’s imposition of a sweeping national security law on the semi-autonomous city following prolonged anti-China, pro-democracy protests last year.
The legislation punishes anything China considers as secession, undermining, terrorism or conspiracy with foreign troops to life in prison and has drawn criticism from Western countries who fear the law will end freedoms when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
The sanctions free all U.S. assets from right-wing officials and prevent Americans from doing business with them.
Lam said that although she herself could not travel to the United States, her government would continue to promote Hong Kong to American companies.
The U.S. government has also mandated goods made in the former British colony for export to the United States to be labeled as made in China after Sept. 25.
Lam said Hong Kong and China were separate WTO members and Hong Kong would file a complaint against the US decision.
The Hong Kong government initially condemned the US sanctions as “shameless and despicable” and “blatant and barbaric” interference in China’s internal affairs.
Beijing and Lam’s government have defended the national security law as necessary for the stability and prosperity of the city, and they said it was imposing China’s legitimate right.
Asked about the international community’s criticism of the arrest of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, and the search of his Apple Daily newsroom by some 200 police officers, Lam said she could not comment. about individual cases, but warned of “double standards” in concerns expressed by other countries.
She said the government’s decision to postpone elections for the city’s legislature for a year amid a resurgence in cases of coronavirus was criticized by countries that do not have a similar level of criticism from other governments. t votes postponed.
Report by Clare Jim and Yanni Chow; Written by Marius Zaharia; Edited by Jacqueline Wong, Robert Birsel
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