While China has considered those who drafted the US Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act to be placed on a no-entry list -- prohibiting them from traveling to mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, it seems that on Saturday a much broader list could already exist as the president of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Hong Kong was detained and denied access to Macau.
Headlines hit around 6 am est. detailing how Tara Joseph, an American citizen and president of AmCham, was attempting to cross into the neighboring Chinese-ruled city of Macau, was detained for several hours by Chinese immigration officials and eventually released, but was denied access to the city, reported Reuters.
- PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN HONG KONG SAYS SHE HAS BEEN DENIED ENTRY TO MACAU
- AMCHAM HONG KONG PRESIDENT SAYS SHE WAS DETAINED FOR AROUND TWO HOURS BY IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS
Joseph said Chinese immigration officials gave her no reason for the denied entry.
The denial could be connected with escalating tensions between China and the US surrounding the violent Hong Kong protests.
China hitting back at US by detaining #TaraJoseph for two hours at #HongKong border and denying entry to Macau https://t.co/Zek6q7mBT2
— haritho (@haritho) December 7, 2019
#OneCountryOneSystem?
— @Dystopia - Fight for #HKautonomy🇭🇰 (@Dystopia992) December 7, 2019
—Tara Joseph, the Head of #American Chamber of Commerce (#AmCham) in #HongKong, was *detained for two hours* at the border & then denied entry into #Macau earlier today.
Looks like tension will keep growing with #HKHRDA. 🇨🇳🇲🇴🇭🇰https://t.co/I6j9qoDN6Q
AmCham has denounced the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill, which would've allowed the transfer of suspects in Hong Kong to mainland China. The bill was the main trigger for the protests that ignited six months ago.
So maybe the no-entry list has already gone into effect, which would undoubtedly add to tensions between the US and China. ...