The Hong Kong government said that they will not be “intimidated” by the new US sanctions and accused Washington of using the city as a wedge in US-Chinese relations.
Hong Kong spokesperson slammed the restrictions as an “utterly disrespectful attempt which will undermine Hong Kong-US relations at various levels.”
“We will not be intimidated,” the spokesperson said.
On Friday, the US slapped sanctions on 11 top Chinese officials, including Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and the city’s police chief Chris Tang, accusing them of “undermining” Hong Kong’s autonomy and violating the rights of its residents.
US officials have been openly backing large-scale anti-Beijing protests in Hong Kong, which began last year and frequently descended into rioting and clashes with police. China, meanwhile, accused the US meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs and inciting violence there.
Lam previously shrugged off the sanctions against her, saying that she does not have any assets in the US, nor does she plan to move there.
Tang strongly rebuffed the blacklist as well, arguing that he was merely carrying out his duties as a police chief.
The city’s government also blasted the US for publishing personal data of sanctioned officials, equating it to “state-sanctioned doxxing” and threatening with “legal action.”
The new sanctions add to a series of hostilities between the US and China in recent months. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would in 45 days ban Americans from dealing with Chinese-owned companies ByteDance and Tencent, the owners of TikTok and WeChat apps respectively. Trump accused the companies of collecting the personal data of US citizens and sharing it with the Chinese government. The move sparked criticism from Beijing, while TikTok suggested taking legal action in response.
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