China to impose sanctions on seven U.S. individuals, entity

BEIJING, July 23 (Xinhua) -- In response to the erroneous practice of the U.S. side, China has decided to take reciprocal countermeasures, and impose sanctions on seven U.S. individuals and entity according to the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

On July 16, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, issued the so-called "Hong Kong Business Advisory." The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed financial sanctions on seven deputy directors of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in HKSAR by adding them to its list of Specially Designated Nationals.

The United States has concocted the so-called "Hong Kong Business Advisory" to groundlessly smear Hong Kong's business environment, and illegally imposed sanctions on several officials of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR. These acts gravely violate international law and basic norms governing international relations, and severely interfere in China's internal affairs. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this, the spokesperson said.

In response to the erroneous practice of the U.S. side, China has decided to take reciprocal countermeasures, and impose sanctions on seven U.S. individuals and entity according to the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, including former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Louis Ross, Chairman of U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) Carolyn Bartholomew, former Staff Director of Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) Jonathan Stivers, DoYun Kim at National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, senior program manager of the International Republican Institute (IRI) Adam Joseph King, China Director at Human Rights Watch Sophie Richardson, and Hong Kong Democratic Council, the spokesperson said.

"I would like to stress once again that Hong Kong is China's Special Administrative Region and its affairs are an integral part of China's internal affairs. Any attempt by external forces to interfere in Hong Kong's affairs would be as futile as an ant trying to shake a big tree," the spokesperson added.