The United States imposed sanctions on July 16 on seven Chinese officials over Beijing’s crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong, Washington’s latest effort to hold China accountable for what it calls an erosion of rule of law in the former British colony. The sanctions, posted by the U.S. Treasury Department, target individuals from China’s Hong Kong liaison office, used by Beijing to orchestrate its policies in the Chinese territory. The seven people added to Treasury’s “specially designated nationals” list were Chen Dong, He Jing, Lu Xinning, Qiu Hong, Tan Tienui, Yang Jianping, and Yin Zonghua, all deputy directors at the liaison office according to online bios. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Chinese officials over the past year had “systematically undermined” Hong Kong’s democratic institutions, delayed elections, disqualified elected lawmakers from office, and arrested thousands for disagreeing with government policies. “In the face of Beijing’s decisions over the past year that have stifled the democratic aspirations of people in …