U.S. curbs visas for Chinese officials over Hong Kong freedoms - Pompeo

[rooster59]

U.S. curbs visas for Chinese officials over Hong Kong freedoms - Pompeo

By David Brunnstrom

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gives a news conference about dealings with China and Iran, and on the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2020. Mangel Ngan/Pool via REUTERS

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday Washington was imposing visa restrictions on Chinese officials responsible for restricting freedoms in Hong Kong, but he did not name any of those targeted.

 

The move comes ahead of a three-day meeting of China's parliament from Sunday expected to enact new national security legislation for Hong Kong that has alarmed foreign governments and democracy activists.

 

The U.S. visa restrictions apply to "current and former" Chinese Communist Party officials "believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy," Pompeo said, without naming them.

 

Last month, President Donald Trump responded to China's plans by saying he was initiating a process to eliminate special economic treatment that has allowed Hong Kong to remain a global financial center since its handover by Britain in 1997.

 

Pompeo's announcement represents the first concrete U.S. step in response to China's moves, but Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, said visa restrictions were largely symbolic and the fact that no names were given could lessen their impact.

 

A State Department spokeswoman said relatives of designees could also be barred. A Bloomberg columnist quoted a department official as saying the number of officials targeted was "in the single digits."

 

Chinese embassy spokeswoman Fang Hong said China "opposes the U.S. side's wrongful decisions," and added that China's legislation targeted only "a very narrow category of acts that seriously jeopardize national security."

 

"We urge the U.S. to immediately correct its mistakes, withdraw the decisions and stop interfering in China's domestic affairs," she said.

 

Wall Street's major indexes tumbled on Friday after a Wall Street Journal article said U.S. "meddling" on issues like Hong Kong and Taiwan could jeopardize Chinese purchases under a Phase 1 trade deal Trump agreed with China in January, spooking investors already worried about a surge in coronavirus cases.

 

Pompeo's announcement comes at a time of intensified U.S. rhetoric against Beijing as Trump campaigns for re-election. Opinion polls have shown voters increasingly embittered toward China, especially over the coronavirus, which began there.

 

"President Trump promised to punish the Chinese Communist Party officials who were responsible for eviscerating Hong Kong's freedoms. Today, we are taking action to do just that," Pompeo said.

 

He accused China of pressuring local authorities to arrest pro-democracy activists and disqualify electoral candidates, and added: "The United States will continue to review its authorities to respond to these concerns."

 

Pompeo said last week Washington would treat Hong Kong as a Chinese city rather than an autonomous one to the extent that China treated the territory as a Chinese city. He said Hong Kong elections due in September would show China's intentions.

 

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate approved a bill that would impose mandatory sanctions on people or companies that back efforts to restrict Hong Kong's autonomy. It includes secondary sanctions on banks that do business with anyone backing any crackdown on the territory's autonomy.

 

A Hong Kong government spokesman called the legislation unacceptable, China's official Xinhua news agency said.

 

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Richard Chang and Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-06-27

 

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[Srikcir]

And when several months ago Trump heard from US Intelligence agencies that Russia was offering Afghanistan militants bounties on killing US soldiers, Trump did .....

Nothing.

Yet during that time, Trump promoted Russia's return to the now G7.

How does one account for Trump's foreign policies when they appear arbitrary and inconsistent?

[Isaan sailor]

Not many have the guts to stand up to CCP.   USA, Australia, UK, France, anyone else? 

[Eric Loh]

9 hours ago, rooster59 said:

U.S. curbs visas for Chinese officials over Hong Kong freedoms -

This is rich from Trump’s administration. What about Palestinian’s freedom in the West Bank that Israel intend to annex which Pompeo agreed. Hypocrites. 

[CorpusChristie]

2 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

This is rich from Trump’s administration. What about Palestinian’s freedom in the West Bank that Israel intend to annex which Pompeo agreed. Hypocrites. 

There could be a thread where that issue is addressed ?

[Mavideol]

10 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Chinese embassy spokeswoman Fang Hong said China "opposes the U.S. side's wrongful decisions," and added that China's legislation targeted only "a very narrow category of acts that seriously jeopardize national security."

quantity not important, 1 it's already too many, let the people be !!!

[Mavideol]

10 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

This is rich from Trump’s administration. What about Palestinian’s freedom in the West Bank that Israel intend to annex which Pompeo agreed. Hypocrites. 

since we are at it..., then Saudi "killer" prince and his entourage

[Eric Loh]

15 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

There could be a thread where that issue is addressed ?

The issue is same and about the tragedy of Trump’s foreign policy. 

 

[Bkk Brian]

1 hour ago, Isaan sailor said:

Not many have the guts to stand up to CCP.   USA, Australia, UK, France, anyone else? 

Yes the UN

 

GENEVA (26 June 2020) – UN independent experts have repeatedly communicated with the Government of the People’s Republic of China their alarm regarding the repression of fundamental freedoms in China. They have denounced the repression of protest and democracy advocacy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), impunity for excessive use of force by police, the alleged use of chemical agents against protesters, the alleged sexual harassment and assault of women protesters in police stations and the alleged harassment of health care workers.

They have also raised their concerns regarding a range of issues of grave concern, from the collective repression of the population, especially religious and ethnic minorities, in Xinjiang and Tibet, to the detention of lawyers and prosecution and disappearances of human rights defenders across the country, allegations of forced labour in various sectors of the formal and the informal economy, as well as arbitrary interferences with the right to privacy, to cybersecurity laws that authorise censorship and the broadly worrying anti-terrorism and sedition laws applicable in Hong Kong. 

 

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26006

 

And ASEAN

 

Vietnam and the Philippines raised concerns over repeated violations of maritime rules at a summit of Southeast Asian leaders amid growing grievances with China over its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-26/southeast-asia-leaders-sound-alarm-on-south-china-sea-tensions