The Chinese Embassy in the United States called visa restrictions against Chinese officials imposed by Washington over Hong Kong an incorrect decision and called for its cancellation.
Earlier on Friday, US Secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the US was imposing visa restrictions on Chinese Communist party officials for “undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy and violating human rights.”
“We call on the American side to immediately correct its mistakes, withdraw its decisions and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs,” the diplomatic mission said in a statement.
The United States is threatening China with sanctions, accusing it of harassing Uighurs and other Muslim groups, violating human rights, including in Tibet and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, and saying that the bill being developed by the Chinese Parliament to protect Hong Kong is aimed at eliminating its high autonomy. The Chinese authorities rejected all the accusations and criticism, calling on them not to interfere exclusively in the country’s internal Affairs.
The Beijing bill provides for a ban on subversive and separatist activities. It prohibits all forms of incitement aimed at overthrowing the Central government, as well as terrorism and outside interference.
