Tag: Hong Kong protests news

China Slaps First Sanctions on US Over Hong Kong Bill

Sanctions on several pro-democracy US NGOs are more symbolic than substantive.


China will impose sanctions on US-based pro-democracy and human rights groups in response to a recent US law supporting protesters in Hong Kong.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Monday NGOs, including the National Endowment for Democracy, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute had acted “badly” during nearly six-months of unrest in Hong Kong.

It’s unclear what, if any, impact the symbolic sanctions on would have on the ground.

The foreign ministry also said China will suspend US Navy visits to Hong Kong.

What prompted China’s response?

China had vowed to take strong countermeasures after US President Donald Trump late last month signed into law two Hong Kong related bills that were overwhelmingly passed by Congress.

One piece of legislation requires the State Department to certify at least annually that Hong Kong’s autonomy is not compromised. It also allows the US to impose sanctions for human rights abuses.

Also read: Thousands Take to the Streets in Hong Kong in Fresh Round of Protests

A second bill banned the export of crowd-control munitions, such as teargas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and stun guns, to Hong Kong security forces.

China feels the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act “seriously interfered” in Hong Kong’s internal affairs.

The bills came as the US and China are trying to strike a trade deal amid fears that an escalating trade war is impacting global markets.

What is the situation in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong has experienced nearly six months of increasingly violent pro-democracy protests triggered by a now-shelved bill that would have allowed extraditions to China.

The protests broadened into a movement calling for democratic reforms and police accountability and has been driven by concerns that China is encroaching on freedoms in Hong Kong that are not enjoyed on the mainland.

The article was originally published on DW. You can read it here. 

Hong Kong Leader Urges Peaceful End to University Standoff

The new phase of the protests has led to chaos throughout Asia’s financial hub, with schools closed, train lines disrupted and major roads blocked by barricades.


Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Tuesday that an estimated 100 protesters remain trapped inside the city’s Polytechnic University in the third consecutive day of the siege with police.

Police have surrounded the university in the centrd of the bustling Kowloon peninsula and are arresting anyone who leaves.

Lam said 600 protesters had left the campus, including 200 who are under 18 years old, adding that those under 18 would not be immediately arrested but could face charges later. The other 400 who have left have already been arrested.

“We will use whatever means to continue to persuade and arrange for these remaining protesters to leave the campus as soon as possible so that this whole operation could end in a peaceful manner,” Lam said after a meeting with her advisers.

She warned campus protesters must surrender if there was to be a peaceful resolution.

“This objective could only be achieved with the full cooperation of the protesters, including of course the rioters that they have to stop violence, give up the weapons and come out peacefully and take the instructions from the police,” she told a press conference in her first comments on the standoff.

The new phase of the protests has led to chaos throughout Asia’s financial hub, with schools closed, train lines disrupted and major roads blocked by barricades. Social unrest has caused havoc across the city for more than five months.

Supplies running out

With the standoff approaching its third day, demonstrators said supplies, including food, were quickly running out at the campus.

Also read: Hong Kong Police Raid University After All-Night Siege

“There have been so many people who have sacrificed for this,” said one 21-year-old university student who had escaped from the campus on Tuesday.

Dozens of mask-wearing protests were seen escaping the university on Monday night by sliding down plastic hosing from a bridge and fleeing on waiting motorbikes as police fired.

Two officials were permitted to enter the campus late on Monday in an attempt to mediate but many protesters refused to leave voluntarily.

China sole authority 

According to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua, Beijing insisted on Tuesday that only China has the sole authority to rule on constitutional matters in Hong Kong. It condemned the Hong Kong High Court decision to veto the ban on face masks during public demonstrations.

“No other institution has the right to make judgments or decisions,” said Chinese parliament spokesperson Zang Tiewei.

The Hong Kong High Court had ruled Monday that the mask ban enacted over a month ago by Lam was unconstitutional.

The article was originally published on DW. You can read it here.