Monday, 10 August 2020_The United States has escalated its long-standing economic war against China over a security law that Beijing enacted for Hong Kong in late June, says an American analyst and radio host.
“The US is at war with all sovereign, independent countries by other means. It wants them all to transform into US vassal states, key ones especially, China, Russia, Iran or we see what's going on against Venezuela,” Stephen Lendman said in an interview on Saturday.
“The latest sanctions are against Hong Kong officials. I believe it's the first time the US has sanctioned individuals and entities [in Hong Kong]. Eleven individuals in Hong Kong were sanctioned. I believe this is the first time the US has done that. There have been many examples of US sanctions on China, but the US forgot that Hong Kong is part of China,” he said.
Following last year's anti-government protests in Hong Kong, Beijing enacted a new national security law that criminalizes sedition, secession, and subversion against the mainland.
The law also paves the way for Chinese national security institutions to operate in the city for the first time since 1997, when Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule. Those offenses are punishable by sentences of up to life in prison.
The US Treasury Department announced on Friday that it was freezing US-based assets of Chief Executive Carrie Lam and 10 other senior officials in Hong Kong, also criminalizing any financial transactions with the aforementioned individuals.
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