“Beijing and Hong Kong officials have used Hong Kong national security laws extraterritorially to intimidate, silence, and harass 19 pro-democracy activists who were forced to flee overseas, including a U.S. citizen and four other U.S. residents,” the U.S. State Department said.

Beijing has vowed to retaliate against the United States for sanctioning six officials, including Hong Kong’s justice secretary and outgoing police chief, over the “transnational repression” of opposition activists under national security legislation.