The Trump administration has announced visa restrictions on current and former Chinese officials who it says “were responsible for eviscerating Hong Kong’s freedoms,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Friday.
“Today, I am announcing visa restrictions on current and former CCP officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, as guaranteed in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, or undermining human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong. Family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo did not name the Chinese officials.
The announcement is the latest administration move against Beijing as tensions between the two capitals have steadily increased over a slew of issues, including but not limited to trade, the telecom giant Huawei’s 5G technology, media freedoms and designations, the South China Sea, the coronavirus and the question of Hong Kong’s autonomy.
President Donald Trump announced punitive measures against China in late May, including steps to protect American investors from Chinese financial practices, and accused Beijing of “unlawfully claiming territory in the Pacific Ocean,” threatening freedom of navigation and conducting “espionage to steal our industrial secrets, of which there are many.”
