US Sanctions Hong Kong Officials, Issues Annual Report
The State Department this week sanctioned six Hong Kong government and police officials who it said have helped to implement Hong Kong’s repressive national security law, which penalizes government dissent.
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The designations target Sonny Chi Kwong Au, the secretary-general for the Committee for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong; Dong Jingwei, director for the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Republic in Hong Kong; Dick Chung Chun Wong, an assistant police commissioner; Margaret Wing Lan Chiu, the assistant police commissioner; Raymond Chak Yee Siu, commissioner of the Hong Kong Police Force; and Paul Ting Kwok Lam, Hong Kong’s secretary for justice.
The State Department also released its annual Hong Kong Policy Act report, covering “conditions” in Hong Kong from January 2024 through December. The report said the U.S. has spoken with Hong Kong authorities about sanctions implementation, but the Hong Kong government said it “would only implement UN sanctions, not ‘unilateral’ sanctions such as U.S. designations.” Hong Kong officials also said that while its banks “are under no legal obligation to observe foreign government unilateral sanctions,” they must “establish and implement policies for their Hong Kong businesses that incorporate a full assessment of any legal, business, and commercial risks involved.”
The State Department noted that the Bureau of Industry and Security during 2024 “designated” 54 entities located in Hong Kong for providing support to a foreign military acting contrary to U.S. foreign policy and national security interests.