US Navy visits to Hong Kong have been suspended and China has imposed sanctions on US-based NGOs in response to a recent US law supporting protesters in Hong Kong.
Media reports say Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Monday that NGOs, including the National Endowment for Democracy, Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House had acted “badly” during nearly six months of unrest in Hong Kong.
The foreign ministry also said China will suspend US Navy visits to Hong Kong.
“In response to the unreasonable behaviors of the US side, the Chinese government decides to suspend the review of requests by US military ships and aircraft to visit Hong Kong as of today," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a news conference in Beijing yesterday.
Ms. Hua also accused the National Endowment for Democracy, Human Rights Watch and Freedom House, of instigating violence during the antigovernment protests in Hong Kong.
Ms. Hua said these groups supported “anti-China forces in creating chaos in Hong Kong, and encouraged them to engage in extreme violent criminal acts.”
“They have a large responsibility for the chaos in Hong Kong, and deserve to be sanctioned and pay the price,” she added.
China reportedly vowed to take strong countermeasures after US President Donald Trump last week signed into law two Hong Kong-related bills that were overwhelmingly passed by Congress.
One piece of legislation requires the State Department to certify at least annually that Hong Kong's autonomy is not compromised. It also allows the US to impose sanctions for human rights abuses.
A second bill banned the export of crowd-control munitions, such as teargas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and stun guns, to Hong Kong security forces.
The bills came as the US and China are trying to strike a trade deal amid fears that an escalating trade war is impacting global markets.
Hong Kong's has experienced nearly six months of increasingly violent protests triggered by a now-shelved bill that would have allowed extraditions to China. The protests broadened into a movement calling for democratic reforms and police accountability.
