Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on December 21 that, in a demonstration of U.S. resolve to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its oppressive practices, he will impose visa sanctions on all Chinese officials involved in human rights violations. These individuals will be barred from entering the United States in the future, and their families may face the same restrictions.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on March 21 that the Communist Party’s authoritarian rulers have imposed draconian restrictions on the Chinese people’s freedoms of speech, belief, association and peaceful assembly; the U.S. has made clear that these human rights violators are not welcome in the United States.
Pompeo noted that he has imposed visa restrictions under the Immigration and Nationality Act on Chinese officials responsible for or involved in the oppression of religious figures, ethnic minorities, dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists, labor organizers, civil society organizers, and peaceful protesters, barring them from entering the United States. Family members of these individuals may also face the same restrictions.
He said, “The Chinese Communist Party is increasingly oppressing the Chinese people, and today’s move demonstrates the U.S. government’s determination to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for this.”
Pompeo said the U.S. has imposed a series of visa restrictions and financial sanctions on Chinese officials this year, including those involved in the horrific human rights abuses in Xinjiang, those who have blocked U.S. travel to Tibet, and those who have undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy. He emphasized, “Today’s action adds additional restrictions and applies to all CCP officials who engage in similar oppressive actions, regardless of where they are located.”
Pompeo reiterated that the United States stands with those who have been prosecuted for peacefully exercising their rights, including lawyers like Xu Zhiyong, house church pastors like Wang Yi, civil society advocates like Huang Qi, Uyghur scholars like Ilham Tohti, pro-democracy activists like Li Zhiying, and Tibetan linguists and business people like Tashi Wangchuk.
Pompeo concluded by urging Beijing to release these individuals immediately and to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms that the Chinese people are entitled to under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The U.S. executive branch has been imposing waves of sanctions this year in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s long history of human rights abuses and misconduct in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.
In Hong Kong, to prevent the Chinese Communist Party from passing the “Hong Kong National Security Law,” the U.S. imposed visa restrictions on former and current Chinese officials who undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy, human rights and fundamental freedoms on June 26, and targeted Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Hong Kong Police Commissioner Anthony Tang and 11 others on August 7, freezing their assets in the United States.
On November 9, the U.S. sanctioned four more officials for undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy, including Li Jiangzhou, deputy director of Beijing’s State Security Office in Hong Kong; Deng Zhonghua, deputy director of China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office; Liu Chi-wai, head of the National Security Division of the Hong Kong Police Force; and Li Guihua, senior superintendent of police, who were banned from entering the country and had their assets frozen; and on December 7, the U.S. sanctioned 14 vice chairmen of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for undermining Hong Kong’s democratic process.
In Xinjiang, on July 9, the U.S. side sanctioned four individuals, including Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Guanguo, former Xinjiang Political and Legal Committee Secretary Zhu Hailun, Xinjiang Public Security Department Director Wang Mingshan, and former Xinjiang Public Security Department Party Secretary Huo Liujun, for having their assets frozen and the first three banned from entering the country; on July 31, the U.S. side sanctioned two additional Xinjiang officials.
In Tibet, the U.S. side imposed visa restrictions on July 7 on the grounds that the Chinese Communist Party continues to systematically obstruct the travel of U.S. diplomats, journalists and travelers to Tibet, resulting in unequal bilateral treatment.
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