Sanctions announced for NGOs, US vessels

China said on Monday that it has suspended review of requests by United States military ships and aircraft to visit Hong Kong and also announced sanctions against several US non-governmental organizations in response to a Hong Kong-related US legislation.

The so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, signed into law by US President Donald Trump last week, has sparked strong opposition from China, which said it would issue firm countermeasures.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing on Monday that sanctions will apply to NGOs that "behaved badly" during Hong Kong's disturbances. She accused the NGOs of having "great responsibility for the chaos in Hong Kong".