Biden's proposed NSA Jake Sullivan 'deeply concerned' about Hong Kong crackdown

Expressing his concern on the situation in Hong Kong, the United States President-elect Joe Biden's proposed National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that he was 'deeply concerned' about the imprisonment of pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong. Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam have been jailed by a court for 'organising, participating, and inciting' an unauthorised protest outside a police headquarters last year. Joshua Wong has been jailed for 13 and a half months after he pleaded guilty to charges of organising and inciting an unauthorised rally, while Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam have received a prison term of 10 and seven months respectively. 

Read: US President-elect Joe Biden Picks Retired General Lloyd Austin As Secretary Of Defence

Situation in Hong Kong 

On November 26, a Hong Kong court sentenced a 31-year-old man named Pun Ho-Chiu for throwing eggs on police headquarters during last year's protests. The court jailed Pun over charges of property damage, unauthorised assembly, and seven counts of assault. The court said even though eggs were not weapons and no one was harmed during the incident, it is important to send a message otherwise it may encourage others to follow suit. 

Read: Joe Biden Says His Son Hunter’s Business Ventures Will Not Conflict With His Presidency

US imposes sanctions 

Recently, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on 14 Chinese officials because of the same issue. According to the reports by AP, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement said, “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”.

He added, “These actions demonstrate once again Beijing’s complete disregard for its international commitments under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a U.N.-registered treaty”. The 14 official who have been sanctioned are: Wang Chen, Cao Jianming, Zhang Chunxian, Shen Yueyue, Ji Bingxuan, Arken Imirbaki, Wan Exiang, Chen Du, Wang Dongming, Padma Choling, Ding Zhongli, Hao Mingjin, Cai Dafeng, and Wu Weihua.

The situation in Hong Kong has remained hostile since the mid-last year after millions of people took to the street to protest against an extradition bill, which later turned into a pro-democracy movement. Mainland China introduced the controversial national security law in June this year and arrested several people under what critics argue is a draconian law. So far, an estimated 10,000 people have been arrested in cases related to the ongoing protests.

Read: China Urges Dialogue With US As Joe Biden Likely To Take Tough Stance Against Beijing

Also Read: Joe Biden Unveils His Health Team; Doctor Vivek Murthy Appointed As Surgeon General

(Image Credits: AP)