China suspends US military visits to Hong Kong, bans NGOs in protest at Congress bills
China has suspended the review of requests by American military ships to visit Hong Kong after the US Congress passed two bills in support of violent anti-government protests in the Chinese financial hub.
Addressing a news briefing on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said “in response to the unreasonable behavior of the US side, the Chinese government has decided to suspend reviewing the applications for US warships to go to Hong Kong for (rest and) recuperation as of today.”
Such naval visits are part of a rest-and-recreation tradition that dates back to the pre-1997 colonial era, which Beijing allowed to continue after return from British to Chinese rule.
She said Beijing would also impose sanctions on a number of US-based NGOs for acting “badly” and fueling the unrest in Hong Kong, including the National Endowment for Democracy, Human Rights Watch and Freedom House, among others.
These NGOs, she said, have a “great responsibility for the chaotic situation in Hong Kong,” which has been grappling with violent street demonstrations since June.
There was “already a large amount of facts and evidence that make it clear that these non-governmental organizations support anti-China” forces and "incite separatist activities for Hong Kong independence,” Hua said.
Public anger in Hong Kong initially erupted against a controversial extradition bill. The proposal was later shelved in the wake of criticisms, but anti-government rallies continue unabated, with rioters vandalizing public and private property and attacking security forces and government buildings.
Beijing blames the United States as well as Britain, the former colonial power in Hong Kong, as instigators of the violent protests, repeatedly calling on the outsiders to stop meddling in the affairs of China.
Defying Beijing’s calls, US President Donald Trump last week signed two bills passed in Congress, which back protests in Hong Kong and threaten mainland China with “human rights” sanctions over its handling of the rallies.
The bills infuriated China, which warned that it would take “firm counter-measures.”
At the news briefing, Hua further reaffirmed Beijing’s resolve to safeguard Hong Kong’s “prosperity and stability and our national sovereignty, security, development and interests,” stressing that necessary measures will be taken to that effect.
The Chinese official further renewed calls for the US administration to stop interfering in and commenting on China’s domestic affairs, stressing that Washington should “correct mistakes.”
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