The U.S. government has established visa restrictions on Chinese officials involved in "repressive acts" against religious minorities in China.
On Monday, the Biden administration announced that it would impose a travel ban against Chinese officials who are responsible for "repressive acts" against religious and ethnic minorities in and outside of China, including the U.S. The travel restrictions would prevent Chinese officials involved in religious persecution from traveling to the U.S. as well.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Monday that the U.S. "rejects efforts by [Chinese] officials to harass, intimidate, surveil, and abduct members of ethnic and religious minority groups, including those who seek safety abroad, and U.S. citizens who speak out on behalf of these vulnerable populations."
Blinken underscored the U.S.' commitment to defending human rights globally and pledged to "use all diplomatic and economic measures to promote accountability."
The State Secretary explained that the sanctions would be imposed on individuals who are "believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, policies or actions aimed at repressing" religious believers, ethnic minorities, human rights activists, dissidents, peaceful protesters, journalists, and labor organizers in and outside of China.
Blinken's Monday statement did not specify which Chinese officials would be targeted by the travel restrictions and a State Department spokesperson told the Epoch Times that "individual visa records are confidential and we cannot provide details as to who is or will be affected."
Both the Trump and Biden administrations' State Departments have applied sanctions on Chinese officials who have been found to be involved in abuses against people, including the regime's crackdown in Hong Kong, as well as the persecution of the spiritual group Falun Gong, and the widely reported oppression and abuse against the Uyghur Muslims in China's Xinjiang Province.
In May 2021, the Biden administration announced sanctions against Yu Hui, a former director of an agency that was accused of persecuting Falun Gong in Chengdu, China. The travel restrictions prevented him and his immediate family from traveling to the U.S.
But China's persecution of dissents and religious minorities doesn't stop at home. According to VOA News, the U.S. Justice Department last week announced charges against five men who were accused of acting on behalf of the Chinese government in stalking and harrassing U.S.-based Chinese dissidents. The criminal cases were filed in a Brooklyn federal court alleging that the defendants had looked into the dissidents, intimidated them and stifled their speech.
Blinken underscored the U.S.' support for the brave dissidents who speak out against abuse and persecution despite the risk of retaliation. He added, "We call on the PRC [People's Republic of China] government to end its ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, repressive policies in Tibet, crackdown on fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, and human rights violations and abuses, including violations of religious freedom, elsewhere in the country."
PEN America, which advocates for human rights and the protection of free expression, described the recent developments as a demonstration of how "powerful authoritarian regimes such as China's CCP have escalated their tactics of trans-national repression to the point that it directly threatens the freedom of activists living anywhere in the world."
