US attempts to shed light on human rights abuses in places like Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet once again prompted China to respond furiously with Chinese government imposing sanctions against six Americans, including former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Axios reports.
The latest sanctions have been issued in response to Biden administration’s advisory warning businesses of the increased risks of operating in Hong Kong, where a national security law imposed by Beijing has pretty much decimated once-lauded political freedoms.
Chinese officials condemned the advisory as interference in its domestic affairs as well as a “reciprocal countermeasure to US sanctions against seven Chinese government officials in Hong Kong,” according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said that the US has compiled the Hong Kong Business Advisory to illegally impose sanctions and smear Hong Kong’s business environment with no grounds, in that way severely interfering in China’s internal affairs.
Among the six sanctioned Americans are also HRW China director Sophie Richardson, IRI associate director Adam King and US-China Economic and Security Review Committee chair Carolyn Bartholomew, as well as the Hong Kong Democracy Council, as the only entity on the list.
Similar advisory was issued several days before for Xinjiang, where the Chinese government has been accused of carrying out a genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.
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