American sanctions Chinese and Hong Kong officials for chasing activists abroad

The US shot a new sanction round in China on Monday and focused on six Chinese and Hong Kong officials at a high level about what it described as actions of transnational repression for their performance against pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and on US soil.

The move was the first important step of the new Trump government to put pressure on China about human rights in Hong Kong. Said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in one rack That the officials used the national security laws of the city “to intimidate 19 pro-democracy activists to be silent and bothered that were forced to flee abroad, including an American citizen and four other American residents.”

The sanctioned officials were Dong Jingwei, China’s most important national security officer in the city since 2023. In his earlier role as China’s vice minister of state security, Mr Dong led the country’s efforts to follow dissidents and catch foreign spies.

The secretary of Hong Kong for Justice Paul Lam and police commissioner Raymond Siu also belonged to the six officials within the national security bodies and the police who were punished for their role in “forcing, arresting or trapped” persons under the National Security Act.

In a performance of national security since the widespread unrest the city rocked in 2019, the authorities of Hong Kong imprison dozens of opposition laws, activists and others, including journalists, in the city.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also has a Annual report Say that Hong Kong’s government had continued to use her broad National security laws To undermine human rights and civil freedoms in Hong Kong, a criticism of other Western countries have also made. It noted that the Hong Kong government had offered premiums in December for information that led to the arrests of dissidents who live abroad.

Hong Kong activists in the United States welcomed the move.

“Many of us have passed ruthless pressure and threats through transnational repression. It really means a lot to take the US the lead to keep the officials orchestrated these actions responsible,” said Frances Hui, who received political asylum in the US, in a rack On behalf of the Freedom Committee in Hong Kong Foundation in Washington. Family members of Overzese activists, including Mrs. Hui, were interviewed in Hong Kong by the National Security Police.

The Chinese embassy in Washington said in one rack That the enforcement of these laws, which were first imposed in 2020 in the aftermath of months of months of months-long massive pro-democracy protests the year before, were “fair and necessary” to return stability and prosperity to the Chinese territory. It also condemned the sanctions and called it a “gross interference in the internal affairs of China and Hong Kong’s affairs.”

The government of Hong Kong described the sanctions as’venomal behavior“And deeds of intimidation that” clearly revealed the barbarity of the US. “

The sanctions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs set restrictions on property and financial transactions of the people in the United States. The US has already punished dozens of other Chinese and Hong Kong High officials, issued travel prohibitions and guidelines to freeze assets imposed 2020 And 2021.

State Secretary Marco Rubio, a pronounced critic of the Chinese human rights report, said that Monday’s actions have demonstrated the dedication of the Trump government to be responsible for those responsible for limiting the liberties of people in Hong Kong and the pursuit of those abroad.

Willy WO-LAP LAM, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, noted that although the sanctions were consistent with Mr Rubio’s position in relation to China, President Trump himself did not emphasize much on supporting human rights in the region. The Trump administration has drastically shortened funds to organizations that have long given a voice to dissident communities in China and other countries, including Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.

“Trump himself is not so interested in what happens in Tibet, in Xinjiang and in Hong Kong,” said Mr Lam. “But it’s just another card to play in the long -term systemic competition with China.”