Beijing vows retaliation over second round of US sanctions on Hong Kong officials

SCMP | March 31, 2025, 10:33 p.m. | Original

Hong Kong authorities have also condemned the US sanctions. Photo: Sun Yeung

Beijing has vowed to retaliate against the United States for sanctioning six officials, including Hong Kong’s justice secretary and outgoing police chief, over the “transnational repression” of opposition activists under national security legislation .

The Hong Kong government and China’s foreign affairs arm in the city on Tuesday both condemned the latest round of US sanctions, while defending Hong Kong’s use of national security legislation to pursue 19 activists overseas, including an American citizen and another four of the country’s residents.

“The so-called ‘sanctions’ from the US have once again exposed its ulterior motive to damage Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, as well as suppress China’s development,” a spokesman for the Commissioner’s Office of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong said.

“China must take effective measures to resolutely retaliate.”

The US earlier announced its second round of sanctions against officials in Hong Kong, five years after Washington imposed economic sanctions on 11 local and mainland Chinese officials over the Beijing-imposed national security law.

The latest officials to be sanctioned include Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok and Police Commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee, who is expected to retire after his term expires on Tuesday.

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