Washington Restricts Visas For Mainland Officials

The United States said on Friday it was restricting visas for a number of Chinese officials, accusing them of infringing on the autonomy of Hong Kong through the planned national security law.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would restrict visas for unspecified current and former officials of the Chinese Communist Party "who were responsible for eviscerating Hong Kong's freedoms."

The officials who were targeted were "responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy," which Beijing promised before regaining control of the territory in 1997, Pompeo said.

"The United States calls on China to honour its commitments and obligations in the Sino-British Joint Declaration," Pompeo said in a statement, calling for protections of "freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly."

The United States has been a critic of the planned national security law, which is expected to be enacted in coming days.

Beijing says the law is needed to restore stability to the SAR after months of protests, but critics say it would effectively undo the freedoms enjoyed by the SAR, and would breach the principle of 'one country, two systems' and end judicial independence.

Pompeo's action comes one day after the US Senate approved a bill that would lay out economic sanctions against Chinese officials and Hong Kong police as well as banks that do transactions with them.

Supporters of the bill, which needs to be passed by the House of Representatives, say they want to impose real costs on Chinese officials rather than just issue condemnations. (AFP)