U.S imposes visa restrictions on Chinese officials
Admin l Wednesday, October 08, 2019
WASHINGTON, United States – The United States has imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials over alleged repressive campaign against Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Krygz and other members of the Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang).
The Chinese government has been accused of mass detentions of victims in internment camps; pervasive, high-tech surveillance; draconian controls on expressions of cultural and religious identities; and coercion of individuals to return from abroad to an often perilous fate in China, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo has said.
“Today, I am announcing: Visa restrictions on Chinese government and Communist Party officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the detention or abuse of Uighurs, Kazakhs, or other members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang, China. Family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions.
“These visa restrictions complement yesterday’s announcement by the Department of Commerce regarding the imposition of export restrictions on U.S. products exported to 28 entities, including elements of the Public Security Bureau and commercial companies in Xinjiang, involved in China’s campaign of surveillance, detention, and repression”, he said.
The United States called on the People’s Republic of China to immediately end its campaign of repression in Xinjiang, release all those arbitrarily detained, and cease efforts to coerce members of Chinese Muslim minority groups residing abroad to return to China to face an uncertain fate.
It added that protection of human rights is of fundamental importance, adding that all countries must respect their human rights obligations and commitments and that the United States will continue to review its authorities to respond to these abuses.
