By Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan
China is striking restrictions on travel to Hong Kong by some US officials in reprisal for similar actions imposed on Chinese individuals by Washington; the Foreign Ministry said on 10 December 2020.
China has observed restrains, colossal flexibility and wanted to reduce tension between the US and China. Still, the US actions became unbearable, and finally, China has retaliated in a very polite, precise, and effective manner. Based on facts, the US Diplomats’ involvement in instigation protests in Hong Kong, China, kept its eyes closed and ignored for so long. US diplomatic passport holders visiting Hong Kong and nearby Macao will temporarily no longer receive visa-free entry privileges, spokesperson Hua Chunying said.
US administration officials, congressional staffers, employees of non-governmental organizations, and their immediate family members will face “reciprocal sanctions,” Hua said.
She referred to US sanctions that bar individual Chinese and Hong Kong officials from traveling to the US or dealing with the US financial system. Hua said the measures were taken “given that the US side is using the Hong Kong issue to seriously interfere in China’s internal affairs and undermine China’s core interests.” The US is closing the door on Chinese Communist Party members. “China once again urges the US side to immediately stop nosey in Hong Kong affairs, stop meddling in China’s internal affairs, and not go further down the wrong and hazardous path,” Hua said. China had long urged against the US sanctions and other actions seen as aggressive.
Earlier, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said Trump administration officials are “digging a hole” for the next US administration’s relationship with China through actions aiming at the country and its officials. Steps such as limiting visas for the 92 million members of the ruling Communist Party and their relatives have “again exposed the sinister intentions of extreme anti-China forces in Washington to hijack China-US relations for their political gain,” Xinhua said in an editorial.
The US State Department last week amended the duration of such visas from 10 years to one month, another example of the progressively hard-line attitude implemented by the administration in its declining days. That came in addition to the sanctions pursuing specific Chinese and Hong Kong officials over their movements in Hong Kong, the northwestern region of Xinjiang, and elsewhere.
While President-elect Joe Biden has gestured he intends to keep the pressure on China, he’s also expected to seek a return to the more conventional, less aggressive style of diplomacy. Rolling back Trump-era measures could be brutal, however, while openhanded Republicans the chance to renew allegations that Biden is relaxing Washington’s stance toward Beijing.
Dozens of officials from mainland China and Hong Kong have been knockout with visa bans and other sanctions, and new limitations have been imposed on Chinese diplomats, journalists, and academics. Chinese tech giant Huawei has been barred out of the US market, and the US has urged other countries to follow suit, often successfully.
Chinese retaliated by vowing to impose countervailing measures against American officials, saying US allegations and disciplinary actions only solidified the Chinese people behind their
I would like to reiterate that the NPC Standing Committee’s decision on the membership requirement of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR is made under the Constitution, the Basic Law, and the relevant provisions of the Hong Kong national security law. It is a necessary and essential step to uphold and improve “one country, two systems” and safeguard the rule of law and the HKSAR’s constitutional order. It is legal and genuine and is above any challenge.
“Hong Kong’s affairs are purely internal affairs of China. No foreign country has the right to interfere with it. China urges the US side to instantly stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop going further down on the wrong path”. Suppose the US side insists on going it’s way. In that case, the Chinese side will continue to take resolute countermeasures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development, and the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese personnel.
It is worth mentioning that, the US is maintaining one of the largest CIA centers in Hong Kong, which was operating in the region based in Hong Kong. The Chinese reaction might affect the CIA operation in the whole region.
Author: Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan, Sinologist (ex-Diplomat), Editor, Analyst, Non-Resident Fellow of CCG (Center for China and Globalization), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan.
(The views expressed in this article belong only to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy or views of World Geostrategic Insights).