HONG KONG – The city of Hong Kong will consider countermeasures against the sanctions slapped on its chief executive and 10 officials by the United States, the secretary for commerce and economic development said on Saturday (Aug 8).
Mr Edward Yau’s response came in a local radio programme, where he declared the sanctions imposed by the White House on Friday, in response to China’s national security law for Hong Kong, to be “unreasonable and barbarous”.
He warned that over the longer term, the move by Washington, described as “blatant interference” in Hong Kong affairs, would hurt US interest in Hong Kong too.
“Looking at the wider interest between Hong Kong and the US, such imposition of unreasonable measures would send a very wrong signal to US investment in Hong Kong.
“Ultimately, I think the toll will be back on the US, and of course, it will definitely hurt Hong Kong-US relations,” said Mr Yau, who is not among those sanctioned.
In a statement on Saturday, the Hong Kong government had slammed the move by Washington as “shameless and despicable”, adding that “we will fully support the central government to adopt countermeasures”.
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), a pro-establishment body, “strongly protested” against the US sanctions in a statement issued on Saturday.
“It is only natural that relevant officials implement national policies and laws on behalf of the country. The so-called sanctions are actually aimed at China,” it said, pointing to worsening China-US ties.
Late on Friday night, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet that the US will not stand by while the people of Hong Kong suffer “brutal oppression at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party or its enablers”.
His comments came after the US imposed sanctions – which allows the freezing of assets in the US and bans those on the blacklist from doing any business in the US – on Chief Executive Carrie Lam and 10 other top Hong Kong and mainland officials.
On the Hong Kong side, they are Hong Kong Police Commissioner Chris Tang, his predecessor, Mr Stephen Lo, Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng, Security Secretary John Lee and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang.
Mainland officials who were not spared are chief of the liaison office in Hong Kong Luo Huining, director of the new Office for Safeguarding National Security Zheng Yanxiong, and secretary-general of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security Eric Chan.
Mr Luo on Saturday said the sanctions against him indicated he was doing what he “should be doing for my country and Hong Kong”, a statement on the liaison office’s website stated.
The US Treasury Department had said Mrs Lam was sanctioned as she “is directly responsible for implementing Beijing’s policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes”.
Mrs Lam had scoffed at the prospect of being targeted by US sanctions, telling reporters on July 31 that she would “just laugh it off” if it happened. “I do not have any assets in the US nor do I long for moving to the US.”
Associate Professor Alfred Wu of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said the US order serves as a signal to China “but does not impact the given persons too much politically and financially”.
This is because those on the blacklist are “senior in the party-state apparatus” and their personal interests are tied to their positions, although the sanctions will create many difficulties for the 11 officials in many countries and in the banking sector, he said.
What would be more hurtful is if the US moves on to target mid-level officials who are involved in Hong Kong affairs, Prof Wu added.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMieGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnN0cmFpdHN0aW1lcy5jb20vYXNpYS9lYXN0LWFzaWEvYmVpamluZ3MtdG9wLWhrLW9mZmljZS1zYXlzLXVzLXNhbmN0aW9ucy1hcmUtY2xvd25pbmctYWN0aW9ucy1hbmQtcmlkaWN1bG91c9IBAA?oc=5
2020-08-08 06:25:14Z
52780981528246
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar