U.S. Issues New Sanctions on Chinese Officials for Abuses in Hong Kong

Pictured: The 2019 protests in Hong Kong that spurred the passage of new legislation by Beijing to try to crack down on dissent. Source.

In July 2020, Congress passed the bipartisan Hong Kong Autonomy Act which placed sanctions on individuals in China and Hong Kong for their “failure to preserve Hong Kong's autonomy.” On March 17, Secretary of State Blinkin extended sanctions to 24 new individuals including Wang Cheng, a member of the Chinese Communist Parties elite Politburo, and You Quan, the Vice Chairman of the group that oversees matters related to Hong Kong. Each of the 24 individuals played some role in drafting, authorizing, or implementing China’s controversial National Security Law. 

The relationship between China and Hong Kong is complex. Great Britain handed governance of Hong Kong back over to China in 1997 on the condition of the city having 50 years of relative autonomy in what has become known as the “one country-two system” framework. Under this framework, Hong Kong has had democratic elections, freedom of press and speech, and more autonomy in trade and markets than those in mainland China. However, the last few years has seen Beijing begin to assert increasing amounts of political power over the city. Attempts at control by the Chinese Communist Party culminated in the widespread and long running protests in 2019 which in turn lead to a series of new crackdowns in its wake including the National Security Law of 2020 and new electoral procedures in 2021 which have led to U.S. sanctions.  

The National Security Law was first proposed in May 2020, a year after prolonged, violent protests put Hong Kong in the international spotlight. The National Security Law criminalizes “secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and collusion with foreign entities” with the potential for life in prison for anyone convicted of one of these crimes. The law also creates a committee to oversee and prosecute as well as opening up the potential for extradition to China for prosecution. The law is widely considered to be a response to the 2019 protests and attempt to ensure that they will not happen again.

While the new sanctions target those involved in the National Security Laws implementation or passage, the sanctions are a direct response to the unanimous passage of a new electoral law that would severely restrict the freedom of elections in Hong Kong. Among other things, the law would increase the size of the Hong Kong legislative body, proportionally increasing the number of officials appointed by the Chinese Community Party and thus decreasing the impact of elections. 

Zhang Yesui, a spokesperson for China’s National People’s Congress, cited the 2019 Hong Kong protests as proof that the system needed to be reformed to ensure that “patriots governed.” Patriotism has increasingly been identified as a love of China and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party—under this definition patriotism leaves no room for dissent. Swearing oaths to the country and Party have become an increasingly common way of ensuring loyalty or removing those who refuse to take the oath. 

For Beijing, one of the most disturbing results of the 2019 protests was the swell of support for pro-democracy candidates in the fall local elections. Nearly 90% of contested seats were won by opposition candidates in an election that had the highest voter turnout in cities history. While the officials elected did not have much power, the statement made by the people of Hong Kong was clear: overwhelming discontent with the current system that favors the will of Beijing.

The fall 2020 elections were postponed. The motive publicly being the coronavirus pandemic however various candidates and activists disputed the reasoning saying Beijing postponed due to fear of another landslide victory of pro-democracy candidates. The announcement of postponement came a week after 12 pro-democracy candidates were struck from the ballot.

Amidst this conflict, the U.S. transitioned from President Trump to President Biden and while the two have not agreed on much, the abuses in Hong Kong have drawn criticism and a tough stance from both. The March 17th sanctions come just days before the first bilateral U.S.-China talks under the Biden administration and signal that the U.S. will not be softening its opposition to Beijing’s attacks on democracy and human rights in Hong Kong.