China appoints hardliner as head of Hong Kong national security agency
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China appointed a hardliner known for stamping out protests on the mainland as the head of Hong Kong’s new security agency on Friday, state media said, days after imposing a sweeping law on the territory that criminalizes dissent.
Zheng Yanxiong will take the helm of the controversial national security agency set up under the legislation that empowers mainland security agents to operate inside Hong Kong openly for the first time, unbound by the city’s laws.
The office — which has investigative and prosecutory powers — will monitor intelligence related to national security and process cases, in some circumstances handing them over to mainland authorities.
The 56-year-old is known as a hardliner who stamped out often-violent anti-corruption protests that erupted in Wukan, a village in the province, in 2011.
China clashes with US China promised to take “strong countermeasures” if the US presses ahead with tough new sanctions that target banks over infringements on Hong Kong’s autonomy.
Beijing has faced a groundswell of criticism from primarily Western nations over its decision to impose a law outlawing acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and colluding with foreign forces in Hong Kong.
That includes from Britain, which plans to extend citizenship rights to Hong Kongers, and the United States, where Congress on Thursday dialed up the pressure by fast-tracking the new sanctions.
US President Donald Trump still needs to sign off on the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, and has not yet said if he will do so.
It targets Chinese officials and the Hong Kong police, making US sanctions against them mandatory if they are identified in two consecutive government reports as working to impede Hong Kong’s freedoms.
Crucially, the act would punish banks — including blocking loans from US institutions — if they conduct “significant transactions” with individuals identified as infringing on the city’s autonomy.
Earlier Thursday, before the Senate voted on the new measures, Beijing said it “deplores and firmly opposes” the US bill.
“We urge the US to grasp the reality of the situation, stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and implementing the negative bill, otherwise we will take strong countermeasures,” said foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.
Former colonial power Britain has said the law breaches Beijing’s “One Country, Two Systems” promise to grant Hong Kongers key liberties — as well as judicial and legislative autonomy — until 2047, a promise made as the city was handed back to Beijing in 1997.
As a result, London has announced plans to allow millions of Hong Kongers with British National Overseas status to relocate with their families and eventually apply for citizenship.
“We will live up to our promises to them,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told parliament.
That has infuriated Beijing, which says Britain promised not to grant full citizenship rights to Hong Kongers ahead of the handover.
“We firmly oppose this and reserve the right to take corresponding measures,” China’s embassy in London said Thursday.
US lawmakers are also considering a proposed bill offering sanctuary to Hong Kong residents that has received widespread bipartisan support.
Australian leader Scott Morrison said he was “very actively” considering offering Hong Kongers safe haven.
And Taiwan has opened an office to help Hong Kongers wanting to flee.
One of its most prominent young democracy activists, Nathan Law, announced on Thursday he had fled overseas and will “continue the advocacy work on the international level.”