The US on Friday imposed sanctions on six officials, including Hong Kong’s sole representative to China’s top lawmaking body, over mass arrests of pro-democracy advocates in the territory.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in the latest of a slew of sanctions imposed in the final days of his term, and following political violence in Washington, called the crackdown in Hong Kong “appalling.”
“We condemn PRC actions that erode Hong Kong’s freedoms and democratic processes, and will continue to use all tools at our disposable to hold those responsible to account,” Pompeo said in a statement, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
Photo: Reuters
Among those hit by sanctions was Tam Yiu-Chung (譚耀宗), the Hong Kong delegate to the Chinese National People’s Congress Standing Committee, and You Quan (尤權), the vice chairman of the Chinese government group that handles policy for Hong Kong and Macau.
Three Hong Kong security officials were also hit by the sanctions, which restrict any US transactions with them.
China last year imposed a draconian National Security Law in Hong Kong after widespread and sometimes violent protests that sought to preserve the territory’s separate freedoms.
The US earlier imposed sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥), who later acknowledged that she has had to rely on cash and can no longer hold a bank account.
Pompeo earlier threatened US action after the rounding up on Wednesday last week of more than 50 people in Hong Kong, including a US lawyer, John Clancey, who worked for a law firm known for taking up human rights cases.
Hong Kong yesterday hit back at the US, slamming the sanctions as “insane, shameless and despicable.”
The Hong Kong government in a statement expressed “utmost anger” and denounced the “coercive measures,” which it said were Washington’s latest attempt to intervene in China’s internal affairs and obstruct the territory’s effort to safeguard national security.
“The US government has exploited every incident and excuse to make slandering remarks about the National Security Law,” a government spokesperson said in a statement.
“We cannot help but suspect that the National Security Law has touched a nerve of those foreign or external forces,” the spokesperson added.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)