China will apply tit-for-tat sanctions on US congress members, officials, and heads of non-governmental organisations Beijing said had “acted egregiously” on Hong Kong -related issues.
Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun described the US sanctions as a “grave violation of the principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations”.
China “strongly condemns” the US decision and will sanction “Congress members, officials and heads of NGOs who acted egregiously on Hong Kong issues”, he said in the regular press briefing, without offering further details.
Washington announced sanctions on national security and other high-ranking officials on March 31 as they were believed to have used the semi-autonomous city’s national security laws “extraterritorially to intimidate, silence and harass 19 pro-democracy activists”.
More to follow …