The United States has announced new visa restrictions on officials from China and Hong Kong in response to recent guilty verdicts in the National Security Law trial of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. The State Department made this announcement on Friday, expressing deep concern over the trial’s outcome.
On Thursday, fourteen pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong were found guilty, while two were acquitted, in a landmark subversion trial. Critics argue that these verdicts threaten Hong Kong’s rule of law and its status as a global financial hub.
“The United States is deeply concerned by the guilty verdicts announced in the National Security Law trial of pro-democracy organizers in Hong Kong,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller in a statement. He emphasized that the defendants faced politically motivated prosecutions and were jailed for peacefully participating in political activities protected under Hong Kong’s Basic Law.
In response to these developments, the United States will impose new visa restrictions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials responsible for enforcing the national security law, according to Miller.
The trial, described as Hong Kong’s largest against the democratic opposition, follows the 2020 arrests of 47 democrats during dawn raids. These individuals were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under the national security law imposed by China.
Miller called on Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to cease using “vague national security laws to curb peaceful dissent.” The U.S. government’s stance highlights ongoing international concern over the implications of these legal actions on Hong Kong’s autonomy and democratic freedoms.
