- China halts US military ship visits to Hong Kong port, as of today Archived Message
Posted by margo
on December 3, 2019, 10:34 am
|
China hits back at democracy act by suspending US military port calls in Hong Kong Beijing says it is also sanctioning US-based NGOs for supporting violence in the special administrative region CHINA has hit back at the United States over a law increasing scrutiny on Hong Kong, announcing on Monday that it is suspending visits of US military vessels and aircraft to the city and sanctioning various US-based non-government organisations. But observers said the retaliation was a calculated way to handle rising calls at home to take action against Washington without affecting ongoing trade negotiations between the two nations. The announcement from the foreign ministry that Beijing would suspend its reviews of requests made by US military aircraft and vessels came a week after US President Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which allows Washington to impose sanctions on officials deemed to have violated human rights in Hong Kong. “In response to the unreasonable behaviour of the US side, the Chinese government has decided to suspend reviewing the applications for US warships to go to Hong Kong for [rest and] recuperation as of today,” ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. Hua also said China had sanctioned NGOs such as Human Rights Watch for supporting violent activities in Hong Kong. Other NGOs targeted include the National Endowment for Democracy, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, the International Republican Institute and Freedom House. “There is a lot of evidence proving that these NGOs have supported anti-China forces to create chaos in Hong Kong, and encouraged them to engage in extreme violent criminal acts and ‘Hong Kong independence’ separatist activities,” she said. “They have a large responsibility for the chaos in Hong Kong, and deserve to be sanctioned and pay the price.” [...] A new batch of US tariffs on Chinese imports is due to go into effect on December 15, putting an extra 15 per cent duty on US$156 billion worth of Chinese goods. China has said it will impose another round of tariffs on US$75 billion worth of US goods – including soybeans – on December 15, in line with the US schedule. Liu Weidong, a US affairs specialist from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the measures announced on Monday were a gesture and would not have a big impact on the US and the affected NGOs. “These organisations have always been sensitive and unpopular in terms of the mainland. To call them out is more like a warning, acknowledging that these organisations and their positions on Hong Kong have crossed the line,” Liu said. He also said China’s options were limited because it was trying to stop the signing of the laws from affecting other aspects of the relationship with the US, such as the trade war. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3040200/china-puts-hong-kong-port-calls-us-military-hold-after-donald |
| Message Thread:
|