[Source: Reuters]

The United States sanctioned six senior Chinese and Hong Kong officials for “transnational repression” and actions it said eroded the autonomy of Hong Kong.

One of the first moves by the new Trump administration to punish China over its crackdown on democracy advocates in Hong Kong.

“Beijing and Hong Kong officials have used Hong Kong national security laws extraterritorially to intimidate, silence, and harass 19 pro-democracy activists who were forced to flee overseas, including a U.S. citizen and four other U.S. residents,” the State Department said in a statement.

In response, the U.S. is sanctioning six individuals who have “engaged in actions or policies that threaten to further erode the autonomy of Hong Kong in contravention of China’s commitments, and in connection with acts of transnational repression,” it said.

Western countries have criticized Beijing for imposing the national security law on Hong Kong and using it to jail pro-democracy activists, as well as shutter liberal media outlets and civil society groups.

Chinese and Hong Kong authorities say the law, which punishes subversion, collusion with foreign forces and terrorism with up to life in prison, has brought stability to the Chinese-controlled territory after large-scale anti-government protests there in 2019.

The sanctions announced on Monday put blocks on any property within the U.S. that might belong to the individuals, including Dong Jingwei, a former senior official at China’s main civilian intelligence agency who is now the director of Beijing’s Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong.

Dong was previously China’s top spy catcher who had oversight of counter-intelligence. He was also vice minister of state security, a high-profile role which included hunting down foreign spies in China and nationals who colluded with foreign countries.

Sonny Au, Dick Wong, Margaret Chiu, Raymond Siu and Paul Lam – all security or police officials in Hong Kong – were also sanctioned for their involvement in the “coercing, arresting, detaining, or imprisoning of individuals” under Hong Kong’s National Security Law.

China’s embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Hong Kong’s government said in a statement that it strongly condemned the sanctions and would not be intimidated by “such despicable behaviour”.

The U.S. issued the sanctions based on a 2020 executive order by President Donald Trump during his first term, although Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers had pushed the Biden administration in 2024 to sanction all six officials.

China’s record on human rights, a contentious issue between the countries, has been a focus for Secretary of State Marco Rubio since he was a U.S. senator, and Hong Kong democracy activists have long seen him as a champion of their cause.

The sanctions “demonstrate the Trump Administration’s commitment to hold to account those responsible for depriving people in Hong Kong of protected rights and freedoms,” the State Department said.

Frances Hui with the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation in Washington, who was granted U.S. political asylum following imposition of the security law, called the sanctions a “critical step in addressing the worsening crackdown in Hong Kong.”

“We hope it marks the beginning of a sustained and broader effort to hold perpetrators accountable – including not only top officials, but also the judges and prosecutors at all levels who have played key roles in silencing dissent,” Hui said.

Rubio said in a separate statement that he was also hitting some unnamed Chinese officials who implement travel restrictions in Tibet with visa sanctions over the inability for U.S. officials and journalists to travel to the region, noting that Chinese officials “enjoy broad access” in the U.S.

“This lack of reciprocity is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Rubio said.

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