Beijing to Slap Visa Curbs on US Officials for ‘Behaving Poorly’ on Hong Kong

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning revealed the move on Tuesday when responding to a reporter’s question on Beijing’s countermeasures to planned sanctions by the US State Department, The South China Morning Post reported.

She said Beijing had stated its position to the US.

“The United States, by using Hong Kong-related issues to impose indiscriminate visa restrictions on Chinese officials, has grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs and seriously violated the principles of international law and basic norms governing international relations,” Mao said.

“China has decided to impose visa restrictions on US personnel who have behaved poorly on Hong Kong-related issues.”

She reiterated that the city’s local affairs were the country’s internal matters, and urged the US to earnestly respect the nation’s sovereignty, as well as Hong Kong’s legal system, and “stop interfering in Hong Kong’s life by any means”.

She also stressed that Beijing was determined to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.

Last month, the US State Department vowed to impose fresh sanctions in the form of visa restrictions on multiple officials in response to the jailing of 45 opposition figures for subversion under the national security law.

The 45 activists were jailed for between four years and two months and 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.

The foreign ministry had indicated the likelihood of a countermeasure at a press conference on November 22. Hong Kong authorities earlier hit out at the US, saying the country’s visa restrictions were part of a despicable political manoeuvre that attempted to intimidate personnel who maintained national security.

In 2020, the Trump administration imposed economic sanctions on 11 current and former city and mainland Chinese officials over the implementation of the Beijing-imposed national security law.

The US said the officials’ actions or policies had threatened “the peace, security, stability or autonomy of Hong Kong”.

Among those sanctioned were then chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and the city’s current leader, John Lee Ka-chiu, who was serving as the security minister at the time.

Under the economic sanctions, brought by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the US-based assets of individuals or entities are blocked and Americans and businesses are generally prohibited from dealing with them.