China slams US sanctions against Hong Kong officials, calls them 'barbarous and rude'

China’s office in Hong Kong, on Aug 8, denounced Washington’s decision to sanction key officials calling the move ‘barbarous and rude’. In a later released statement, they asserted that the US has revealed it’s ‘ill intentions’ and support for anti-china by passing the move which also targeted the city’s leader Carrie Lam.

"The ill intentions of US politicians to support people who are anti-China and messing up Hong Kong have been clearly revealed," Beijing's Liaison Office in Hong Kong said in a statement.

This comes as Washington, on August 7, sanctioned a group of Chinese offices including Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam, accusing them of squashing freedom from the residents. The sanctions, which were authorized by executive order of President Donald Trump, could lead to penalties on China for its efforts to curtail anti-government protests in the city.

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'Political discrimination' 

The Trump administration’s crackdown on Beijing has particularly surged in the recent months with Washington constantly slamming the Asian superpower of crushing democracy in Hong Kong. Recently, Beijing accused Washington of “political discrimination” against its media personnel. During a press briefing on August 7, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin also threatened the United States that if it continues to take a similar approach, the Asian superpower will “make necessary reactions”. According to Wang, China welcomes media as well as journalists from across the globe even the ones coming from America to work in accordance with the law. He also noted that the nation will continue to assist them in performing their job.

Read: China Accuses US Of 'political Discrimination', Threatens 'legitimate' Response

The US had designated four more Chinese media organisations as foreign diplomatic missions saying that they are under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party. These included China Central Television, China News Service, People's Daily and the Global Times that the US asked to report the details of their staff in the country along with US real estate holdings. US State Department official reportedly said that the media organisations were ‘not independent news organisations’ and their action aimed at increasing the transparency on the control of information. 

Read: US Sanctions Leader Of Hong Kong, Other Chinese Authorities

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