China imposes visa restrictions on US officials over Hong Kong issues

As world opinion turns agains China's decision to impose a national security law in Hong Kong, Beijing is imposing a visa ban on certain US government officials.

According to the South China Morning Post, Beijing has imposed visa restrictions on the United States officials who have "behaved extremely badly" on the issue of Hong Kong.

Earlier, the US had imposed visa restrictions against Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials in retaliation for Beijing's policies in Hong Kong.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said, "President Trump promised to punish the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials who were responsible for eviscerating Hong Kong's freedoms. Today, we are taking action to do just that."

"Beijing's continued actions undermine its commitments and obligations in the Sino-British Joint Declaration to respect Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy. At the same time, Beijing continues to undermine human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong by putting pressure on local authorities to arrest pro-democracy activists and disqualify pro-democracy electoral candidates," he added.

The protests in Hong Kong have been taking place sporadically in Hong Kong since June 2019, with protesters claiming to oppose China's increasing influence on the special administrative region.

The latest wave of protests was caused by a security bill specially tailored by Beijing for Hong Kong.

The security legislation, which bans secessionist activities, among other things, is seen by Hong Kong residents as undermining their liberties. However, both Hong Kong's leadership and the central government say the bill would not affect the legitimate rights of the residents. Beijing maintains that the unrest in Hong Kong is a result of international interference and vows to respect the "one country, two systems" principle.