China threatens to retaliate if US sanctions the officials responsible for banning Hong Kong opposition legislators

Name: Hong Kong opposition lawmakers to resign en masse over Legislative Council disqualifications
Uploaded: 2020-12-07T13:42:06.000Z
Duration: 4 min 8 s
Description: Hong Kong opposition lawmakers to resign en masse over Legislative Council disqualifications

Media reports say Washington is preparing to penalise 14 officials over the disqualification of four members of the Legislative Council

Chinese foreign ministry condemns US for ‘interfering’ and says Beijing will take ‘necessary countermeasures’

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Empty seats during an address by Carrie Lam after the mass resignation of opposition lawmakers. Photo: Bloomberg

William ZhengandCatherine Wong

Published: 9:42pm, 7 Dec 2020Updated: 11:57pm, 7 Dec 2020

China has warned the US that it will retaliate if Washington imposes sanctions on the officials responsible for the disqualification of Hong Kong opposition legislators.

Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, told a press conference in Beijing on Monday that China would “take the necessary countermeasures” if the reports are confirmed.

Citing unnamed US government sources, Reuters reported that the US was preparing to sanction 14 people – including officials from the National People’s Congress (NPC), the top legislative body, and senior members of the Communist Party – with measures such as asset freezes and financial penalties.

“China has repeatedly stated that we firmly oppose and strongly condemn the US for interfering in China’s internal affairs by meddling in the Hong Kong issue and imposing so-called sanctions on Chinese personnel,” Hua said.

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Hong Kong opposition lawmakers to resign en masse over Legislative Council disqualifications

She said a resolution by the NPC’s Standing Committee – which led to the disqualification of four Hong Kong legislators on the grounds that they had violated their oath or endangered national security – was “in accordance with the constitution, Hong Kong Basic Law and Hong Kong National Security Law.” The decision prompted a mass walkout by other opposition legislators.