US Sanctions Hong Kong Leader

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam is facing US sanctions amid accusations that she's working with China to limit political freedoms. Lam is "directly responsible for implementing Beijing's policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes," the Treasury Department said in a Friday statement. It cited Lam's push "to allow for extradition to the mainland" last year, which resulted in massive protests, as well as her role "in developing, adopting, or implementing" a wide-ranging new security law, per CNN. Lam is one of 11 officials who will have property and assets in the US frozen, though she's not likely to be bothered. "I do not have any assets in the United States nor do I long for moving to the United States," she told reporters a week ago. She said if she were hit with sanctions, she would "just laugh it off," per Bloomberg.

The other sanctioned officials include "the current and former commissioner of Hong Kong's Police Force; the secretaries for Security, Justice and Constitutional and Mainland Affairs; the director and deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council; the director of the Hong Kong Liaison Office; the director of the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong; and the secretary general of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region," per CNN. They "have implemented policies directly aimed at curbing freedom of expression and assembly, and democratic processes, and are subsequently responsible for the degradation of Hong Kong's autonomy," the Treasury said. The sanctions came under an order signed last month. (Lam just delayed local elections.)