⁍ Beijing’s top representative office in Hong Kong said sanctions imposed by Washington on senior Hong Kong and Chinese officials were ‘clowning actions’
Separately, the Hong Kong government said the sanctions were ‘shameless and despicable’ and represented ‘blatant and barbaric’ interference in China’s internal affairs.

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⁍ The move accelerates rapidly deteriorating Sino-U.S. ties, more than a month after Beijing imposed sweeping national security legislation on Hong Kong.

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– China’s top representative office in Hong Kong on Saturday called US sanctions against it and other Chinese officials “clowning actions” that won’t frighten the Chinese people, Reuters reports. The US on Friday imposed sanctions on the head of China’s Liaison Office, Luo Huining, as well as Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, accusing them of curtailing political freedoms in the global financial hub. The sanctions freeze any US assets of the officials, prohibit them from carrying out business in the country, and generally bar Americans from doing business with them. “The unscrupulous intentions of the US politicians to support the anti-China chaos in Hong Kong have been revealed, and their clowning actions are really ridiculous,” the Liaison Office said in a statement. “Intimidation and threats cannot frighten the Chinese people.” The Hong Kong government, meanwhile, said the sanctions were “shameless and despicable” and represented “blatant and barbaric” interference in China’s internal affairs. “We will not be intimidated,” a government spokesman said. Luo has oversight over the implementation of the contentious security law that allows mainland security agents to be officially based in China’s freest city for the first time. Fifteen people have been arrested under the law so far, including four aged 16-21 who were detained last week. Some political analysts say the security law coming directly from Beijing and bypassing Hong Kong’s legislature signals the start of a more authoritarian rule in the semi-autonomous city and a march toward mainland control.