'Sanctions Are A Hysterical Outburst Of Hegemonism'

The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) has issued a strongly-worded statement for the second day in a row over the US sanctions imposed on 11 Hong Kong and mainland officials, condemning what it said is "US hegemony".

A spokesperson for the HKMAO accused the US government of trying to distract people from its mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis and the country's economic downturn, and said Washington is disappointed to see its plan of infiltrating and curbing China’s development fall into tatters with the implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong.

“The move is nothing but a hysterical outburst of hegemonism after these US politicians failed in their attempts to manipulate Hong Kong affairs”, an HKMAO spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday.

The statement called American politicians “shameless”, and said the ongoing saga is "US hypocrisy at its finest".

It went on to praise Chief Executive Carrie Lam and other principal officials in the SAR for pledging to uphold the "noble responsibility of safeguarding national security", and for saying they won’t be deterred by the sanctions.

On Saturday, the office described the US sanctions as "barbaric, rude and unreasonable".