US Blocks Air Routes with China... Begins Sanctions on 33 Chinese Companies and Institutions

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] The United States, which is clashing with China on multiple fronts, is raising the level of pressure on China by announcing direct economic sanctions one after another. Marking the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square incident, the U.S. is even bringing up this painful historical event of China, which is expected to provoke a backlash from China.

On the 3rd (local time), the U.S. Department of Transportation announced in a statement that starting from the 16th, passenger flights operated by Chinese airlines will be banned from flying to the United States. Flights by four Chinese airlines?Air China (China International Airlines), China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Hainan Airlines?will be prohibited from operating in the U.S. The Department of Transportation pressured China by stating that the ban could take effect before the 16th, depending on a decision by President Donald Trump. The department emphasized that this measure is a reciprocal action in response to China’s earlier ban on U.S. airlines and highlighted that it is not a 'preemptive strike.'

However, the U.S. Department of Commerce fixed the enforcement date for sanctions against 33 Chinese companies and institutions designated on the 'blacklist' last month as June 5, revealing that the U.S. is deliberately intensifying its offensive against China. The Commerce Department had previously placed 33 Chinese companies and government and commercial institutions on the blacklist citing reasons related to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. At that time, only the targets of the sanctions were announced without specifying the enforcement date, but now the effective date has been confirmed and announced.

The sanctioned entities include major Chinese cybersecurity firm Qihoo 360, robotics company CloudMinds, which is invested in by SoftBank, and Netposa, a large Chinese artificial intelligence company, among many others primarily engaged in advanced technology applications such as AI and facial recognition. Due to this measure, starting from the 5th, these companies will be unable to access U.S. technology without U.S. government approval. Even products manufactured outside the U.S. cannot be sold to these blacklisted companies if they contain U.S. technology or content.

In addition to direct sanctions against China, the U.S. is also attempting to bring up historical events that China prefers not to mention. On this day, the U.S. State Department publicly disclosed that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with key figures of the Tiananmen protests as part of its pressure on China. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus also issued a statement regarding the Tiananmen democracy protests, saying, "We honor the brave Chinese people who peacefully demanded democracy, human rights, and a corruption-free society, only to meet a violent end at the hands of the People's Liberation Army armed with guns and tanks on June 4, 1989. The United States continues to applaud their aspirations," expressing condolences for the victims. She added, "We mourn the victims and stand with the Chinese people who continue to hope for a government that protects basic human dignity, fundamental freedoms, and human rights."

In China, there is an atmosphere of blocking even the issue of the Tiananmen incident itself. On Chinese social media platform Weibo, searches for '6·4,' referring to the Tiananmen democracy movement, have been blocked, and Chinese media are not reporting on the Tiananmen incident. Security around Tiananmen Square has been tightened. Police deployment and security checks have been increased at subway stations near Tiananmen Square, and foreign journalists have been barred from access. When asked, "Do you know what day June 4 is?" many Chinese people respond, "I don’t know what day that is," indicating that the Tiananmen incident is becoming a forgotten topic in China.

While China is tightening control over Hong Kong officials by pushing forward the legislation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, the Hong Kong government has also banned the annual memorial rally for the Tiananmen incident victims, which has been held every June 4 for the past 30 years, for the first time this year. The Hong Kong government considers the rally 'illegal' and has deployed over 3,000 police officers and water cannons throughout Hong Kong to block the event.

The Hong Kong government cited the prevention of the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as the reason for banning the Tiananmen memorial rally, but the dominant interpretation is that this is a preemptive measure to prevent the rally from merging with protests against the Hong Kong National Security Law and escalating into anti-government demonstrations.