US hits more Chinese officials with visa restrictions over alleged human rights abuses

The restrictions would apply to CCP officials accused of repressing religious practitioners, ethnic minority groups, dissidents and others

File image: Pompeo announces additional visa restrictions on Chinese officials as Trump’s term nears end (AP)

The United States has issued additional visa restrictions on Chinese officials suspected of human rights abuses, taking further action against Beijing as President Trump’s term reaches its end in less than a month.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement the restrictions affect officials of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) believed to be responsible for or complicit in repressing religious practitioners, ethnic minority groups, dissidents and others.

"China's authoritarian rulers impose draconian restrictions on the Chinese people's freedoms of expression, religion or belief, association, and the right to peaceful assembly. The United States has been clear that perpetrators of human rights abuses like these are not welcome in our country," Mr Pompeo said.

The move comes in the last few weeks of Mr Trump’s presidency, less than four weeks before the inauguration of the president-elect Joe Biden. China-US ties have grown increasingly antagonistic over the past year as the world's top two economies sparred over Beijing's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, imposition of national security law in Hong Kong, and rising tensions in the South China Sea.

The United States on Friday added dozens of Chinese companies, including the country's top chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp and Chinese drone manufacturer SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, to a trade blacklist.

Mr Pompeo said that the action demonstrates the US government's resolve to hold the CCP accountable for its increasing repression of the Chinese people. He also added that family members of the officials could also face visa restrictions.

Earlier this month, the US State Department also toughened travel visa restrictions on CCP members, allowing only one-month single-entry visas where 10-year multiple-entry visas were previously allowed.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry called the restrictions “an escalation of political suppression by some extreme anti-Chinese forces in the US.”

The State Department currently advises Americans to “reconsider travel” to China, because of the “arbitrary enforcement of local laws”.  The advice extends to Hong Kong as well because of the new national security law.  The department’s advisory says: “The PRC government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including by carrying out arbitrary and wrongful detentions and through the use of exit bans on US citizens and citizens of other countries without due process of law.”