US Sanctions Chinese, Hong Kong Officials for Undermining City’s Freedoms, Persecuting Activists Abroad

The action targets the officials for their role in ‘coercing, arresting, detaining, or imprisoning’ dissidents in Hong Kong and abroad.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali (not pictured), in Georgetown, Guyana, on March 27, 2025. Nathan Howard/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON—The United States on March 31 sanctioned six Beijing and Hong Kong officials for abuses in the China-ruled city and efforts of transnational repression on U.S. soil, the first such step that the new Trump administration has taken.

The action was coupled with the release of an annual State Department report submitted to Congress, which found new Beijing actions that directly threaten U.S. interests while violating the regime’s commitments to not interfere with Hong Kong’s autonomy, independent judiciary, and fundamental freedoms until 2047.