U.S. announces sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam
The United States has announced sanctions on 11 senior Hong Kong officials for their involvement in implementing the new national security law imposed by Beijing, and other repressive measures in the city.
The U.S. Treasury Department today announced sanctionsย on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (ๆ้ญๆๅจฅ Lรญn Zhรจng Yuรจ’รฉ) and 10 other current and former senior officials from the territory, accusing them of enforcing Beijingโs crackdown on Hong Kong.
- The detailed list, including the 11 individualsโ passport numbers and dates of birth, is here.
- The sanctions were taken pursuant to Donald Trumpโs executive order โon Hong Kong normalizationโ that was issued on July 14, 2020.
Lam is accusedย of being โdirectly responsible for implementing Beijingโs policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes,โ including her push for the extradition law that sparked the massive protests of 2019, and for โbeing involved in developing, adopting, or implementingโ the national security law.
- Other targets of the sanctions include โHong Kongโs secretaries of justice and security, the cityโs current and former police chiefs, and senior leadership in Beijing’s liaison office to Hong Kong,โ per the South China Morning Post.
- The sanctions call for โall property and interests in propertyโ of the named individuals and โof any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50% or more by themโฆthat are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. personsโ to be โblockedโ and reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Controlย (OFAC).
- U.S. persons and entities are also prohibited from business dealings with them.
What does this all mean?
This is yet another escalation of the growing confrontation between the U.S. and China. Beijing will, of course, be angry.
- The sanctions will make life, and business, inconvenient for all the named individuals and any company associated with them.
- Hong Kongโs reputation as a global hub of finance and business will be further degraded โ international companies will have to think even more carefully about establishing, maintaining, and investing in Hong Kong entities if they wish to continue doing business in the U.S.
Related:ย โThe Hong Kong government said it โstrongly deplored and opposedโ a statement by the United States consulate on Friday calling the new national security legislation a โdraconianโ law that would have a chilling effect on the city,โ reports the South China Morning Post.
