US Designates 14 More Chinese Officials In Latest Hong Kong Sanctions

The United States has sanctioned over a dozen more top Chinese officials related to interference in Hong Kong.

On Monday the Department of the Treasury announced it has designated 14 individuals who are all members of China’s National People’s Congress, after last month Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed government expelled four opposition member’s from its legislature. This immediately put pressure on other oppositionists to resign. 

Most prominent among the 14 newly designated include Vice-Chairpersons of 13th National People’s Congress Standing Committee Dafeng Cai, Jianming Cao, Zhu Chen, Padma Choling and Weihua Wu among others, according to the Treasury Department statement.

But the new US sanctions have stopped short of taking aim at one of the most senior officials. “There had been some anticipation that the U.S. might target one of China’s most senior officials – Politburo Standing Committee member Li Zhanshu – but he wasn’t among Monday’s targets,” according to Bloomberg.

News of Monday’s sanctions were leaked a half-day ahead of the official Treasury announcement, upon which Asian stocks slipped overnight, notably Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.2%, with stocks in Shanghai sinking 0.8%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling slightly, 0.8%.

Amid Trump’s continuing pressure campaign, which he’s promised to take right up to Biden’s inauguration on January 20, China’s Foreign Ministry has slammed the move as continuing to spiral relations down the “wrong path”.

“If the reports are true, I believe you can imagine China’s position,” said spokeswoman Hua Chunying. “We firmly oppose and strongly condemn U.S. interference in China’s internal affairs and sanctions on Chinese personnel under the pretext of Hong Kong. We have expressed our positions to the U.S. side many times and made legitimate and necessary responses,” she added.

Punitive anti-China actions out of the Trump administration are now effectively a daily occurrence, but it appears Beijing plans to simply endure it while counting down the days until Biden enters the Oval. However, by then the incoming Democratic president could be “boxed in” on China.