U.S. sanctions Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam

The Treasury Department on Friday placed sanctions on Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, following months of tension as she has allowed continued overreach by Beijing to subvert Hong Kong's autonomy.

Why it matters: It's the toughest sanction yet imposed on China for its destruction of Hong Kong’s relatively free political system.

• The Treasury noted sanctions against Lam are due to her "implementing Beijing’s policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes."
• A group of other top Hong Kong and mainland China officials were also included in the list of sanctions.
• The sanctions target any U.S. holdings or property owned by the sanctioned individuals or any companies they own, per the announcement.

The big picture: The Trump administration in recent weeks has gone after individuals and entities that human rights advocates have long condemned as complicit in China’s massive human rights violations, including Xinjiang's party secretary and the paramilitary Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

Between the lines: The move also comes as the U.S. and China are locked in an ongoing trade dispute — and while President Trump is battling it out over the Chinese-owned app TikTok.