U.S. slaps sanctions on Chinese officials

WASHINGTON — The United States on Monday imposed financial sanctions and a travel ban on 14 Chinese officials over their alleged role in Beijing's disqualification last month of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong.

The move, which was first reported by Reuters overnight and sent Asian stock markets lower, targeted the vice chairpersons of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), the top decision-making body of the Chinese legislature.

The action was widely seen as part of an effort by outgoing President Donald Trump to cement his tough-on-China legacy and also box presidentelect Joe Biden, before he takes office on Jan. 20, into hardline positions on Beijing at a time of bipartisan anti-China sentiment in Congress.

The Trump administration earlier slapped sanctions on Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam, the Asian financial hub's current and former police chiefs and other top officials in August for what it said was their role in curtailing freedoms in a crackdown on the territory's pro-democracy movement.

“Beijing's unrelenting assault against Hong Kong's democratic processes has gutted its Legislative Council, rendering the body a rubber stamp devoid of meaningful opposition,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

Hong Kong's Beijing-backed government last month expelled four opposition members from its legislature after China's parliament gave city authorities new powers to curb dissent. The move triggered mass resignations by pro-democracy opposition lawmakers in the former British colony.