Chinese Foreign Ministry on US Hong Kong Sanctions: "Serious Violation of International Relations Norms"

Hua Chunying, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, at the Regular Briefing on the 8th
US Opposes Sanctions on All Members of China's NPC Standing Committee
"US Has No Right to Interfere in China's Internal Affairs"

Hua Chunying, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Photo by Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The US-China relationship is deteriorating over the issue of the Hong Kong National Security Law (Hong Kong Security Law). China strongly opposed the US government's move to impose sanctions on 14 vice chairpersons of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislative body, demanding an immediate halt to interference in its internal affairs.

Hua Chunying, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing on the 8th, "US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo irresponsibly criticized China's legislation and the implementation of the Hong Kong Security Law," adding, "The US's related actions seriously violate the basic norms of international relations, severely infringe on China's internal affairs, and seriously damage US-China relations."

Spokesperson Hua emphasized, "The Chinese government and people express strong dissatisfaction with the US's irrational, fanatical, and malicious actions," and stressed, "Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong, and Hong Kong affairs purely belong to China's internal affairs." This means the US has no qualification to interfere in Hong Kong affairs.

She explained that the NPC Standing Committee enacted the Hong Kong Security Law based on the Chinese constitution. She continued, "The enactment of the Hong Kong Security Law is to ensure Hong Kong's stability and to apprehend criminals violating the law," emphasizing, "This is entirely within the scope of China's sovereignty."

She also indicated that the principle of One Country, Two Systems will continue to be maintained. The spokesperson pointed out, "The Chinese government firmly opposes the US's interference in Hong Kong affairs," and warned, "China will take retaliatory measures against the US's despicable actions." When asked further about when retaliatory measures would be taken against the US sanctions, she replied, "We will announce them at an appropriate time."

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on the 7th (local time) sanctioned 14 vice chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee, including Wang Chen and Chao Qianming. These individuals and their immediate family members are banned from visiting the US, their assets in the US are frozen, and transactions with US persons are prohibited. Secretary Pompeo stated in a press release, "The Standing Committee unanimously adopted the Hong Kong National Security Law, which has been used by China to suppress dissidents and arrest those protesting China's oppressive policies," explaining the reason for the sanctions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.