US sanctions five Chinese officials, saying Hong Kong elections lacked 'meaningful' choice
The United States sanctioned five Hong Kong-based Chinese officials on Monday, following Legislative Council elections in the city that the US and the other countries in the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance condemned as devoid of "any meaningful political opposition".
The US Treasury Department sanctioned He Jing, Chen Dong, Lu Xinning, Tan Tieniu, and Yin Zonghua, all deputy directors in Beijing's liaison office in the city, adding to a list of other officials with the same title in the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong, who were sanctioned earlier this year.
All the officials were sanctioned under the authority of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which former US president Donald Trump signed into law last year along with an executive order that ended the city's preferential trade status with the US.
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Issued by the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, the sanctions freeze any US-based assets of those targeted; American citizens and businesses are also generally prohibited from dealing with them.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was sanctioned last year along with 10 other city officials for "implementing Beijing's policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes".
The Five Eyes joint statement, which was also issued by Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, said that the election "severely" restricted the range of political views that city voters had been able to choose from.
Hong Kong's elections on Sunday were watched closely following Beijing's overhaul of local electoral systems in March to ensure only "patriots" hold office. The polls closed with a record low turnout of 30.2 per cent - the lowest since the handover of Hong Kong's sovereignty from Britain to Beijing in 1997, far less than the 43.57 per cent recorded in 2000.
The statement also assailed the National Security Law, which Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 and has been used to detain and prosecute dozens of local opposition politicians and activists for alleged acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
"Many of the city's opposition politicians - most notably the majority of the "NSL 47" - remain in prison pending trial, with others in exile overseas," it said.
"We urge the People's Republic of China to act in accordance with its international obligations to respect protected rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, including those guaranteed under the Sino-British Joint Declaration", the agreement that paved the way for the 1997 handover.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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