The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on March 27 announcing China’s decision to impose sanctions on Gayle Manchin, chairman and Tony Perkins, vice chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Canadian federal Rep. Michael Chong, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on International Human Rights (FAAE). Meanwhile, the previous Chinese sanctions against U.S. personnel who seriously undermined China’s sovereignty and interests on border-related issues remain in effect, the statement said.
It is worth noting that the latest list of U.S. and Canadian individuals to be sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party includes Gail Manchin, chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and wife of Democratic West Virginia U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV). Joe Manchin served as governor of West Virginia and is the current chair of the U.S. Senate Energy Committee. Gayle Manchin was appointed to chair the committee by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on April 19, 2018. She has now been appointed by President Biden to chair the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and is still awaiting a Senate appointment hearing.
Also announced as a sanctioned member of the Chinese Communist Party is Wen Ho Chuang, a Dutch-Canadian of Chinese descent, a federal Conservative Party politician and the current Member of Parliament for the Wellington-Hatton Hills constituency in the Canadian House of Commons. In response to the news of the sanctions, Chuang Wen-Hao later responded via Twitter, saying, “We have a responsibility to call out the Chinese Communist Party for its repression in Hong Kong and its genocide of the Uighurs. Those of us who live freely under democracy and rule of law must speak up for the voiceless. If it means the Chinese Communist Party sanctions me, I will wear it as a badge of honour.”
Erin O’Toole, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, tweeted, “Canadian MPs sanctioned by the CCP are using the freedoms we enjoy as Canadians to call the world’s attention to the genocide of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. I’m proud of the work of MPs from all parties.” According to him, “Chuang Wenhao and Kenny Chiu also demonstrated how Canadians of Chinese ancestry can be resolute critics of communist repression while being proud of their rich Chinese history and Culture.”
Previously, Beijing has sanctioned 10 individuals and four entities on the European side and nine people and four entities on the British side in response to a joint U.S., British, Canadian and EU sanctions campaign against Chinese officials over human rights issues in Xinjiang. They included MEPs, academics, research institutions and members of both houses of the British Parliament, the British Conservative Party’s Human Rights Committee, and other persons and entities.
A joint statement issued Monday by Canada’s foreign minister, the British foreign secretary and the U.S. secretary of state read, “Today, we are coordinating our actions and taking measures, in parallel with those taken by the European Union, to send a clear message about the human rights violations and abuses taking place in Xinjiang. We stand united in calling on China to end repression against Uighur Muslims and other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang, and to release those who are being arbitrarily detained.”
The statement said, “We stress the importance of transparency and accountability and call on China to grant the international community, including independent UN investigators, journalists and foreign diplomats, unhindered access to Xinjiang. We will continue to stand together to expose the CCP’s human rights violations. We stand united in our call for justice for those who have suffered in Xinjiang.”
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