Washington has condemned Beijing’s “retaliatory” decision to impose visa restrictions on US officials accused of interfering in Hong Kong affairs.
Beijing imposed the visa curbs in response to Washington’s threat to implement fresh sanctions on officials after the jailing of 45 opposition figures under Hong Kong’s national security legislation.
In a reply to the Post on Wednesday, the US Department of State said: “We condemn retaliatory actions by the People’s Republic of China against US officials.
“We remain deeply concerned about the deteriorating protections for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the systematic dismantling of Hong Kong’s autonomy under the national security law and Article 23 legislation.”
The US state department also called on Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to “cease politically motivated prosecutions of Hong Kong residents” and “to immediately release all unjustly detained political prisoners and individuals jailed for their peaceful advocacy for basic rights and freedoms”.
The 45 activists were jailed for four to 10 years over their roles in an unofficial “primary” election in 2020, which the court said was a plot to overthrow the Hong Kong government.
On Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning accused the United States of “grossly interfering” in the country’s internal affairs.
She also slammed the US for “seriously violating” the principles of international law and basic norms that govern international relations by imposing indiscriminate visa restrictions on Chinese officials over Hong Kong-related issues.
China decided to impose visa restrictions on US personnel “who have behaved poorly on Hong Kong-related issues”, Mao said, reiterating Beijing’s determination to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.
At a press conference last month, the foreign ministry indicated Beijing was likely to pursue countermeasures.
Hong Kong authorities earlier hit out at the US, saying the country’s visa restrictions were part of a despicable political manoeuvre attempting to intimidate personnel who maintained national security.
Source: SCMP.com