(18 Jan 2021) China said on Monday that it will sanction US officials who "behaved badly" on Taiwan and Hong Kong issues following a spate of what it said are "wrongdoings" by the US.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry began warning of necessary measures against the US moves in defending its national sovereignty and security interest last week after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared restrictions on US diplomatic contacts with Taiwanese officials to be null and void.
At a daily news briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying confirmed the sanctions against the "US officials in charge" in a one-line statement, without providing further details.
Hua also criticised the US' latest sanctions against six Chinese officials in response to the arrest of 55 democracy activists and supporters in Hong Kong earlier this month.
She said the the US "must immediately stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs."
Also, Hua refuted the fact sheet about the activities at the Wuhan Institute of Virology released by the State Department last Friday, calling it a "list of lies."
The sheet points out that Chinese government has "systematically prevented a transparent and thorough investigation" into the international investigation into the COVID-19 origin.
It also unveils that several researchers in the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) became sick before the outbreak in autumn 2019, casting doubt on the "zero infection" among WIV's staff alleged by the institute's senior researcher Shi Zheng Li.
Separately, Hua urged the US to stop its "unreasonable suppression" of Chinese companies after a report saying the US government notified several Huawei suppliers, including chipmaker Intel Corp., that their licenses for doing business with China will be revoked.
Huawei has been at the centre of rising US-Chinese tensions over technology and security.
The Trump administration has rolled out various restrictions aiming to cut off Huawei's access to US components and technology on grounds of national security.
When asked about increasing Chinese state media coverage about the "multiple origins of the virus" theme, while the WHO team's inquiry to the origins have barely begun, Hua said that it is a fact and has been "widely reported by media of various countries around the world."
"It is not a narrative of China alone," she added.
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