The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on the highest ranking Chinese official yet targeted over alleged human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority, a move likely to further ratchet up tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Washington blacklisted Xinjiang region's Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, a member of China's powerful Politburo, and three other officials. The highly anticipated action followed months of Washington's hostility toward Beijing over China's handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak and its tightening grip on Hong Kong.
A senior administration official who briefed reporters after the announcements described Chen as the highest ranking Chinese official ever sanctioned by the United States.
The blacklisting is "no joke," he said. "Not only in terms of symbolic and reputational affect, but it does have real meaning on a person's ability to move around the world and conduct business."
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. But China has denied mistreatment of Uighur Muslims and says the camps provide vocational training and are needed to fight extremism.
The sanctions were imposed under the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows the U.S. government to target human rights violators worldwide by freezing any U.S. assets, banning U.S. travel and prohibiting Americans from doing business with them.
Sanctions were also imposed on Zhu Hailun, a former deputy party secretary and current deputy secretary of regional legislative body the Xinjiang's People's Congress; Wang Mingshan, the director and Communist Party secretary of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau; and former party secretary of the bureau Huo Liujun.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington was also barring Chen, Zhu, Wang and their immediate families, as well as other unnamed Chinese Communist Party officials, from traveling to the United States.
The main exile group the World Uyghur Congress welcomed the move and called for the European Union and other countries to follow suit.
U.S. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who sponsored legislation signed by U.S. President Donald Trump in June that calls for sanctions over the repression of Uighurs, told Reuters the move was "long overdue" and that more steps were needed.
"For far too long, Chinese officials have not been held accountable for committing atrocities that likely constitute crimes against humanity," Rubio said.
The Associated Press reported last month that China was trying to slash birth rates amongst Uighurs with forced birth control. China denounced the report as fabricated.
Despite Trump's hardline public remarks about Beijing, former national security adviser John Bolton alleged in his recent book that Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping should go ahead with building detention camps in Xinjiang and sought Xi's help to win reelection in November.
Trump said in an interview last month he had held off on tougher sanctions on China over Uighur human rights due to concerns such measures would have interfered in trade negotiations with Beijing.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had also raised objections to the Treasury sanctions, especially against a Politburo member, out of concerns they could further damage U.S.-China relations, according to a person familiar with the matter.
"The United States is committed to using the full breadth of its financial powers to hold human rights abusers accountable in Xinjiang and across the world," Mnuchin said in a statement.
Peter Harrell, a former U.S. official and sanctions expert at the Center for a New American Security, said Thursday's move may signal a continued shift by the Trump administration of "paying more attention to human rights abuses in China ... after several years of relative neglect."
Chen made his mark swiftly after taking the top post in Xinjiang in 2016, when mass "anti-terror" rallies were held in the region's largest cities involving tens of thousands of paramilitary troops and police. He is widely considered the senior official responsible for the security crackdown in Xinjiang.
United Nations experts and activists estimate more than a million Muslims have been detained in camps in the Xinjiang region.
Reuters
Fri Jul 10 2020
Chen Quanguo, Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, attends the meeting of Xinjiang delegation on the sidelines of the National People's Congress at Beijing, China March 12, 2019 - REUTERS/Jason Lee
Program Madani Sarawak dijangka tarik 100,000 pengunjung
Penganjuran Program MADANI Rakyat (PMR) Sarawakku Sayang di Miri pada 27 hingga 29 Sept ini dijangka menarik kira-kira 100,000 pengunjung melalui pelbagai program dianjurkan.
Nuansa Seni edisi ke-5 tingkat martabat busana Melayu tradisional
Penganjur nuansa seni volume 5 Festival Gemilang Seni dan Budaya Sarawak, Dr Sharifah Suzana Wan Shukran berkata keistimewaan konsep pakaian cara melayu dibuktikan dengan wujudnya ciri reka bentuk pakaian tradisional melayu yang diterima sebagai antara identiti budaya Melayu.
Penduduk Kampung Sim-Sim perkukuh perpaduan menerusi Karnival Hari Malaysia
Karnival Kampung Sim-Sim diadakan sempena Hari Malaysia bertujuan mengukuhkan tali silaturrahim antara penduduk.
Kerajan alu-alukan inisiatif baharu stabilkan harga barang
Usaha untuk menstabilkan harga barangan dan perkhidmatan serta bersifat mampu milik akan sentiasa menjadi usaha berterusan Kerajaan, selaras dengan tonggak utama Kerajaan MADANI dalam memelihara kesejahteraan rakyat.
Polis tidak cadang haram perhimpunan RXZ - Pengarah JSPT
Polis tidak bercadang untuk mengharamkan program perhimpunan We Are RXZ, sebaliknya mahu pihak penganjur mematuhi prosedur semasa.
Inisiatif pembangunan jagung bijian bersepadu di Sabah, Sarawak
Menteri Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Kos Sara Hidup Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali berkata ini bagi mengurangkan kebergantungan import sumber makanan industri ternakan yang selama ini menyumbang kepada faktor kos pengeluaran dan harga bekalan tinggi di pasaran.
Sarawak amal konsep Muqarabah sebagai dasar pentadbiran
Premier Sarawak, Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg berkata pelaksanaan dasar itu akan mengambil kira aspek kehidupan seharian dan tanggungjawab umat manusia kepada alam semesta.
Pelbagai lapisan masyarakat sertai perarakan
Perarakan Maulidur Rasul Peringkat Negeri Sarawak di bandar Mukah disertai pelbagai lapisan masyarakat termasuk bukan Islam.
IShowSpeed tiba di KL, terima baju batik, Gundam daripada peminat
Dia dijadual mengakhiri siri jelajah tersebut, yang bermula dari 14 hingga 22 September ini di Singapura.
Kes 1MDB: Pengambilalihan pengeluar tenaga bebas bukan idea Najib - Pembelaan
Pengambilalihan IPP bukanlah idea Najib beliau mengambil masa yang agak lama untuk memberi kelulusan selepas ia dicadangkan oleh Ahli Lembaga Pengarah 1MDB.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Cubaan bunuh: Trump ucap terima kasih kepada perkhidmatan rahsia pastikannya "selamat"
Trump mengucapkan terima kasih kepada semua pihak atas keprihatinan mereka terhadap cubaan bunuh yang menimpanya pada Ahad di Florida.
FBI siasat "cubaan bunuh" selepas insiden tembakan berhampiran Trump
Insiden tembakan berhampiran bekas Presiden Amerika Syarikat Donald Trump pada Ahad disiasat sebagai "yang kelihatan seperti cubaan bunuh".
Biden lega Trump tidak cedera selepas cubaan bunuh
Presiden Amerika Joe Biden lahirkan rasa lega kerana bekas presiden Donald Trump tidak cedera berikutan cubaan membunuh.
Trump selamat cubaan bunuh di Florida
Pegawai penguat kuasa undang-undang menyatakan, penembak bersembunyi di kawasan semak berhampiran sempadan padang golf.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Trump tidak akan sertai satu lagi debat presiden bersama Harris
Trump mendakwa beliau memenangi debat yang dihoskan oleh ABC News di Philadelphia pada malam Selasa.
Debat Presiden AS tarik 57.5 juta penonton TV - Data Nielsen
Debat malam Selasa itu merupakan kali pertama calon-calon dalam Pilihan Raya Presiden 5 November bertemu secara bersemuka.
Debat calon presiden: Jika Harris menang, Israel tidak akan wujud dua tahun lagi - Trump
Bekas presiden AS itu berkata, Harris "membenci Israel" dan tidak menyokong Perdana Menteri Israel Benjamin Netanyahu.
Pilihan Raya Presiden AS: Debat pertama dengan Trump, Harris sukar diduga
Perdebatan itu adalah yang pertama antara Trump dan Harris, walaupun Trump pada Jun lalu pernah berdebat dengan Presiden AS, Joe Biden.