Senators urge Biden to impose sanctions over HK paper's closure
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People demonstrating outside the Chinese Embassy in Paris yesterday in support of Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper, which was forced to close after its founder Jimmy Lai's assets were frozen. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
WASHINGTON • Two leading American senators have called on United States President Joe Biden to use powers under a Bill they authored to sanction those responsible for forcing the closure of Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper, suggesting that foreign banks were among those implicated.
The letter from Senator Pat Toomey, Republican ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, and Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, a committee member, referred to a media report last month saying that Hong Kong's security chief John Lee - newly promoted to the city's No. 2 position - sent letters to Apple Daily owner Jimmy Lai and branches of HSBC and Citibank, threatening up to seven years' jail for any dealings with the billionaire's accounts in the city.
Mr Lee ordered the branches to freeze Lai's accounts, "which they appear to have done... directly resulting in (Apple Daily's) closure", according to the letter.
The senators said their Hong Kong Autonomy Act passed last year required the US secretary of state to identify to Congress any foreign person, including foreign businesses, "materially contributing" to the "inability of the people of Hong Kong to enjoy the freedom of assembly, speech, press, or independent rule of law".
"It seems very likely that the breathtaking crackdown on Jimmy Lai and Apple Daily involves numerous foreign persons to whom Section 5 of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act applies," the letter said.
"We urge your administration to comprehensively enforce the Hong Kong Autonomy Act in the immediate wake of the injustice imposed upon Jimmy Lai and the forced closure of Apple Daily."
The senators' legislation requires mandatory sanctions on people and entities that directly undermine Hong Kong's autonomy, and secondary sanctions on banks that do business with those entities and people.
The senators said it was their understanding that the orders to the foreign banks were issued in an extrajudicial manner, by a single official outside of the court system, and without any criminal charges or subpoenas.
"These orders solidify the impression of many that the rule of law is no more in Hong Kong," they said.
Last month, a Citi spokesman said the bank was required to comply with all laws and regulations in the countries in which it operates. HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn has previously said that the bank has to comply with police requests in any country in the world.
On Thursday, Mr Biden called the closure of Apple Daily a "sad day for media freedom" and said it signalled "intensifying repression" by China, while vowing to maintain support for the people of the Chinese-ruled territory.
He made no mention of any plans to impose further sanctions over the crackdown.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian yesterday dismissed Mr Biden's criticism.
"The US leader's position is factually baseless," Mr Zhao said.
Officials in Hong Kong and China have repeatedly said that media freedoms are respected but not absolute, and cannot be allowed to endanger national security. REUTERS
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden called the closure of Apple Daily a "sad day for media freedom" and said it signalled "intensifying repression" by China, while vowing to maintain support for the people of the Chinese-ruled territory.
He made no mention of any plans to impose further sanctions over the crackdown.
