The United States has sanctioned six Chinese and Hong Kong officials involved in "international repression" and acts that threaten to further undermine Hong Kong's autonomy.
"These Beijing and Hong Kong officials used Hong Kong's national security laws to intimidate, silence, and harass 19 pro-democracy activists in foreign countries who were forced to flee abroad, including one U.S. citizen and four U.S. residents," the State Department said.
The six officials include Justice Minister Paul Lam, Security Bureau Director Dong Jingwei and Police Commissioner Raymond Siu. The other three officials are Sonny Au, secretary-general of the city's National Security Committee, and Dick Wong and Margaret Chiu, both assistant police commissioners.
Lam said the sanctions would have little impact on him.
"They don't affect my work and they don't affect my life," he said, adding that the sanctions amounted to "harassment."
Since Beijing enacted a national security law in 2020 to quell mass anti-government protests in 2019, Hong Kong authorities have prosecuted many leading activists. This has drawn criticism from foreign governments, with the governments of Beijing and Hong Kong insisting that the law is necessary for the city's stability.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry's Hong Kong office condemned the sanctions, saying they once again exposed the US's evil intent to undermine the city's prosperity and curb China's development.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said China would take resolute countermeasures for any wrongdoing by the United States. He argued that the actions taken by Hong Kong police against "anti-China elements" who had fled abroad were carried out in accordance with the law and that the United States had no right to interfere in national security matters in the city.
The Hong Kong government has strongly condemned the US for the sanctions, saying it is not afraid of them.
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