A Chinese national flag flutters outside the office for safeguarding national security in the HKSAR.  Photo: AFP

The US has imposed sanctions on four more Chinese officials in the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) over the Hong Kong issue, which Hong Kong Chief Secretary called "barbaric." The sanctioned officials shrugged off the sanctions, and pledged to continue to safeguard the security of Hong Kong in the future. 

On Monday, the US Department of State slapped sanctions against four officials from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland for allegedly "threatening the peace, security and autonomy of Hong Kong." The four sanctioned officials are Deng Zhonghua, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, Edwina Lau, deputy commissioner of police in Hong Kong, and Li Jiangzhou and Li Kwai-wah, officials from the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF).

The four officials are barred from traveling to the US, and any US-related assets will be blocked, wrote the announcement published by the US Department of State on Monday. 

On Tuesday, some of the sanctioned officials denied any negative impact or deterrence caused by the sanction. 

"I am not afraid of the US government's desire to use the so-called sanctions against me as a deterrent against the HKPF's efforts to protect national security," Lau told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"It is the natural responsibility of police officers everywhere to safeguard national security, and I will continue to do so. It is my lifelong responsibility and honor to defend Hong Kong," Li Kwai-wah told the Global Times in response to the sanctions. "I will continue to do my best to protect Hong Kong and our national security."

Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung called the sanction "unacceptable" and "outrageous," adding that the HKSAR government will not be intimidated by such sanctions, local media RTHK reported. 

"My comment on this is very simple, that these sanctions are entirely unacceptable and outrageous - and I would use the word barbaric - interference in Hong Kong's internal affairs," Cheung said at a news conference on Tuesday,

"We are not going to be intimidated by any of these sanctions," Cheung added. "In fact this is clearly breaching international practice, apart from international law."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin condemned the move as blatant US interference in Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs.

"It seriously violated international law and the basic principles of international relations," Wang said at a news conference on Tuesday, "China urges the US to recognize the situation and stop interfering in China's internal affairs."

The purpose of the national security law for Hong Kong is to protect law-abiding Hong Kong residents, when the HKSAR government encountered difficulty in completing legislation on its own to safeguard national security. The central government firmly supports the HKSAR government in discharging their duties in accordance with the law, Wang said. 

"The US' overreaching sanctions against our officials have become a cliché, designed to create political and psychological pressure to force concessions from China," Li Xiaobing, an expert on Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan studies at Nankai University in Tianjin, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"These officials have been prepared for the US sanctions and have a deep understanding of their responsibilities," Li noted, "The sanctions will not have an impact on the officials' daily lives."

Earlier in August, the US sanctioned 11 officials from the HKSAR and the Chinese mainland. In response, China later slapped reciprocal sanctions against 11 US lawmakers and NGO chiefs who had performed badly on Hong Kong-related affairs, including senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.