China To Impose Retaliatory Sanctions On 4 US Officials Over Hong Kong - Foreign Ministry

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2020) China to impose sanctions on four US officials in response to similar actions taken by Washington over situation in Hong Kong, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a briefing on Monday.

Earlier in November, the US sanctioned four Chinese nationals for implementing China's national security law in Hong Kong and cracking down on protesters.

"The actions of the United States constitute a gross interference in the affairs of Hong Kong and in the internal affairs of China, as well as a serious violation of international law and the basic norms of international relations. We strongly condemn and oppose this ... in response to the erroneous actions of the United States, the Chinese side decided to impose sanctions on four [US] individuals," Hua said.

According to Hua, the sanctioned persons will be barred from entering mainland China, as well as Hong Kong and Macau.

In June 2019, mass protests erupted in Hong Kong as a reaction to a proposed bill that would allow people to be extradited from the city to mainland China. The demonstrations continued for weeks and turned violent even after the unpopular measure was withdrawn in September 2019. Beijing said that the situation in Hong Kong was a result of foreign interference in China's domestic affairs.

To stabilize the situation in the city, the Chinese government in late June enacted the national security law in Hong Kong. The new legislation banned separatist and terrorist activities, along with any form of foreign interference in Hong Kong. It provoked a wave of criticism in Hong Kong and abroad with US President Donald Trump threatening to sanction both Chinese and Hong Kong officials for allegedly undermining the city's autonomy.