FILE PHOTO: Chinese and U.S. flags flutter near The Bund, before U.S. trade delegation meet their Chinese counterparts for talks in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
The US has imposed sanctions on four more officials accused of undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy, showing the Trump administration is ready to keep hitting out at China even after Joe Biden won last week’s presidential election.
The announcement on Monday sanctioned three officials in Hong Kong who are key to implementing a national security law imposed earlier this year that has been used to help snuff out pro-democracy protests: Li Jiangzhou, deputy director of the Office for Safeguarding National Security, which was established under the new legislation; Edwina Lau, head of the National Security Division of the Hong Kong Police Force; and Steve Li Kwai-Wah, the senior superintendent.
The administration also designated Deng Zhonghua, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing -- one of China’s key agencies overseeing the financial hub. All of them are barred from traveling to the US and will have any American assets blocked.
"These actions underscore US resolve to hold accountable key figures that are actively eviscerating the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong and undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy,” the State Department said in a statement.
‘More Actions’
The new names add to a list of 10 officials -- including Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Xia Baolong, the head of China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office -- already sanctioned this year. The Trump administration faces a mid-December deadline to name and sanction any banks that have business dealings with officials on the list, a move that could roil US-China relations even further before Biden takes office in January.
Hong Kong’s Opposition to Quit if China Disqualifies Any Members
The Trump administration could take more action against China related to Hong Kong and abuses against Muslim minorities in the far west region of Xinjiang, according to Bonnie Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who has advised both the US State and Defense Departments.
"I anticipate more actions will be taken against China in the presidential transition,” she said. "The Trump team has a ‘to do’ list that is aimed at making the changes in US-China relations irreversible.”
Campaign Trail
On the campaign trail, Biden has stepped up criticism of China over human rights issues including its crackdown in Hong Kong. Yet he’s avoided given specifics on what he’d do differently from President Donald Trump on issues ranging from Huawei Technologies Co. to data security to sanctions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
The Trump administration has taken other tough measures against Hong Kong, including an executive order to end preferential trading treatment for the city. It also suspended its extradition treaty with the territory and ended reciprocal tax treatment on shipping.
In response to earlier US moves, China urged the US to cease its "wrong moves” toward Hong Kong, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian reaffirming Beijing’s position that the city’s affairs were a domestic matter. Hong Kong’s government said it "strongly objects” and "deplores” the Trump administration’s decision, repeating its vow to take up the complaints at the World Trade Organization.
China responded with retaliatory measures against US senators and human rights activists, although Beijing has so far avoided senior White House officials.
