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The sanctions are expected to be announced on Monday, according to “Reuters”, however, two sources said the announcement of the sanctions list could be postponed until the end of this week.
The sanctions, which may target Chinese Socialist Party officials, coincide with efforts by the administration of US President Donald Trump to lift pressure on Beijing before President-elect Joe Biden took office on January 20.
Neither the State Department nor the White House responded to a Reuters request for comment.
The sources claimed that the sanctions may affect 14 Chinese officials, including Chinese parliament officials, members of the National People’s Congress and members of the ruling Communist Party in the country, and may include freezing their assets in addition to financial sanctions, according to two sources. .
The US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the sanctions will include multiple people and may include officials in Hong Kong and mainland China.
Notably, the Hong Kong authorities issued a decision last month to exclude four opposition deputies from parliament, and Beijing’s highest body issued a law making “patriotism” a mandatory requirement for parliamentarians. legislators from the former British colony, allowing local authorities to isolate politicians and parliamentarians without having to appear before civil courts.
The law empowered the region’s authorities to curb dissent, in a move that prompted massive resignations among pro-democracy deputies.
These measures have also raised alarm in the West, as the foreign ministers of the “Five Eyes”, an intelligence alliance that includes the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand, have expressed their “grave concern “.
The countries said in a joint statement that Chinese law “clearly violates international obligations, within the framework of the joint Sino-British treaty documented in the United Nations treaties.”
For his part, the White House national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, said in November that the removal of the deputies showed the “falsity” of the policy of “one country, two systems” that Beijing promised to grant. to Hong Kong an independent government after Great Britain handed it over to China in 1997..
In November, US sanctions included preventing four Chinese Hong Kong government officials from coming to the United States, as well as freezing their US assets.
In October, the US State Department warned international financial institutions not to deal with individuals suspected of participating in the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations and threatened to include collaborators on its sanctions list.
In August, Washington imposed sanctions on Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, and 14 high-ranking officials from the region after Beijing’s decision last June to impose a national security law on this semi-autonomous region.
