Hong Kong: Due to US sanctions, Carrie Lam ‘now only uses cash’

Hong Kong’s special chief Carrie Lam (Lam Trinh Nguyet Nga) said in a television interview that she had to have “a lot of cash” at home because she didn’t have a bank account.

Because the United States Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on him, he revealed.

The United States imposed a ban on her and many officials because of the national security law that China imposes on Hong Kong.

In the interview on Friday night, he said he was using cash every day for everything.

“Now I have a lot of cash at home, the government pays me in cash.”

But she said it was “a great honor” to be punished “unfairly” by the United States.

Hong Kong recently suspended four pro-democracy lawmakers from the legislature after Beijing passed a resolution allowing the Hong Kong government to remove politicians deemed a security threat. nation.

In response, all of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers announced their resignation. For the first time since Britain handed Hong Kong over to China in 1997, the legislature had little disagreement.

The removal of the four Hong Kong lawmakers is seen by many as China’s latest attempt to limit Hong Kong’s freedom, which Beijing denies.

Hong Kong was handed over to China on the principle of ‘one country, two regimes’, allowing the special zone to retain more rights and freedoms than the mainland until 2047.

As a Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong has its own multi-party political, legal system and enjoys rights including freedom of assembly and freedom of expression.

But in late June, China passed a controversial national security law after several years of anti-Beijing and pro-democracy protests.

This law criminalizes “secession, overthrow, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces.”

Beijing says the law is meant to ensure Hong Kong’s stability, but Western governments and human rights organizations say the law effectively limits freedom of speech and demonstrations.

After the law was passed, several Hong Kong pro-democracy organizations disbanded due to concerns for the safety of their members.