China hits back at democracy act by suspending US military port calls in Hong Kong
- Beijing says it is also sanctioning US-based NGOs for supporting violence in the special administrative region
- But moves are not likely to have a big impact on trade talks or military relations with the United States
China has hit back at the United States over a law increasing scrutiny on Hong Kong, announcing on Monday that it is suspending visits of US military vessels and aircraft to the city and sanctioning various US-based non-government organisations.
But observers said the retaliation was a calculated way to handle rising calls at home to take action against Washington without affecting ongoing trade negotiations between the two nations.
The announcement from the foreign ministry that Beijing would suspend its reviews of requests made by US military aircraft and vessels came a week after US President Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which allows Washington to impose sanctions on officials deemed to have violated human rights in Hong Kong.
“In response to the unreasonable behaviour of the US side, the Chinese government has decided to suspend reviewing the applications for US warships to go to Hong Kong for [rest and] recuperation as of today,” ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
Hua also said China had sanctioned NGOs such as Human Rights Watch for supporting violent activities in Hong Kong. Other NGOs targeted include the National Endowment for Democracy, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, the International Republican Institute and Freedom House.
“There is a lot of evidence proving that these NGOs have supported anti-China forces to create chaos in Hong Kong, and encouraged them to engage in extreme violent criminal acts and ‘Hong Kong independence’ separatist activities,” she said.