US, EU, UK, Canada Announce Coordinated Sanctions Against China for Human Rights Violations
The U.S., the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada announced sanctions against China for human rights abuses in an internationally coordinated effort to condemn China’s treatment of its Uyghur population. The sanctions, announced March 22, target officials and an entity in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region for leading the repression and detention of Muslim minorities.
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The U.S.’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Chinese government officials for their role in human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. The sanctions target Wang Junzheng, the secretary of the Party Committee of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and Chen Mingguo, director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau. The XPCC was sanctioned by OFAC in August 2020 (see 2007310028) and both agencies were added to the Entity List in 2019 (see 1910070076).
The EU, the United Kingdom and Canada also sanctioned the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Public Security Bureau, saying the agency is responsible for a campaign of repression against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. Along with Chen and Wang Junzheng, EU, U.K. and Canadian sanctions also target Zhu Hailun, a former XUAR government official, and Wang Mingshan, a current XUAR official. Both Zhu and Wang Mingshan were sanctioned by OFAC in July (see 2007090024).
OFAC said its sanctions “complement” the other measures taken by its allies and will better block sanctioned Chinese officials’ access to international financial systems. The State Department said “these actions demonstrate our ongoing commitment to working multilaterally to advance respect for human rights and shining a light on those in” China who are “responsible for these atrocities.”
The sanctions underscore its “grave concerns with the ongoing human rights violations” in China, Canada said. “Mounting evidence points to systemic, state-led human rights violations by Chinese authorities,” the country said, adding that it has raised the issue with Chinese authorities. U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the evidence of mounting human rights abuses “cannot be ignored.” In a joint statement, the countries and the EU said they “will continue to stand together to shine a spotlight on China’s human rights violations.”
China’s Foreign Ministry didn’t immediately comment on the U.S., Canadian and U.K. sanctions, but said the EU measures were based on “nothing but lies and disinformation.” China announced retaliatory sanctions against 14 European lawmakers, scholars and think tanks, including EU Parliament members and committees; Dutch, Belgian and Lithuanian politicians; the Mercator Institute for China Studies; and the Alliance of Democracies Foundation. “The Chinese side urges the EU side to reflect on itself, face squarely the severity of its mistake and redress it,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. “Otherwise, China will resolutely make further reactions.” The ministry didn’t immediately comment on the U.S., U.K. and Canadian sanctions.