US slaps curbs on Iran, China, Cuba

Washington, Jan. 16: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday imposed sanctions on three of his primary targets — China, Iran and Cuba — in a last-minute push aimed in part at boxing in President-elect Joe Biden.

Five days before he turns in his keys at the State Department, Pompeo vowed to punish China over its clampdown in Hong Kong — a stance backed by Biden — but moved further away from Biden’s goal of easing tensions with Iran and Cuba.

Pompeo condemned as “appalling” the massive operation on January 6 in Hong Kong in which China rounded up 55 people including an American lawyer, John Clancey.

“We condemn PRC actions that erode Hong Kong’s freedoms and democratic processes and will continue to use all tools at our disposable to hold those responsible to account,” Pompeo said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

President Donald Trump’s outgoing administration slapped sanctions on six people over the detentions including Tam Yiu-Chung, Hong Kong’s sole delegate to China’s top lawmaking body, the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

It earlier took action against Hong Kong’s top leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who acknowledged that as a result she was no longer able to use a credit card or hold a bank account.

China last year pushed through a draconian security law in Hong Kong after widespread and sometimes violent protests that sought to preserve freedoms guaranteed to the financial hub before Britain handed back the territory in 1997.

Antony Blinken, who will appear for a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday to be Pompeo’s successor, has vowed that the next administration “will stand with the people of Hong Kong and against Beijing’s crackdown on democracy.”