People targeted include Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party secretary for the region.
State departments and the Treasury imposed sanctions on a number of officials on Thursday, including Chen, Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Political and Legal Committee (XPLC) Zhu Hailun and the current Party Secretary of the Bureau of Xinjiang Public Security (XPSB) Wang Mingshan. The move comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing.
"The United States will not sit idly by while the (Chinese Communist Party) commits human rights abuses targeting Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs and members of other Xinjiang minority groups, including labor forced, arbitrary mass detention and forced control of the population, and attempts to erase their culture and Muslim faith, "said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement announcing visa restrictions against the three officials, which prevent them and their families from entering the United States.
According to the United States Department of State, the Chinese government has detained "more than one million Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs and members of other Muslim minority groups" who were allegedly "subjected to torture, cruel and inhuman treatment such as physical and sexual violence. " , forced labor and death. "
In his statement, Pompeo said that Chen - who is also a member of the Chinese Politburo - "has overseen many abuses in the Tibetan regions, using many of the same horrific practices and policies that the CCP officials currently employ in Xinjiang."
Pompeo said he "imposes additional visa restrictions on other CCP officials suspected of or responsible for the unjust detention or abuse of Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs and members of other Xinjiang minority groups" .
The US Treasury Department on Thursday appointed Chen, Zhu and Wang, as well as the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau and former Party Secretary Huo Liujun.
Under the designations, "all the property and interests in the property of the entity and individuals named above, and of all entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by them, individually or with other stranded persons, who are in the United States or in the possession or control of United States persons, are stranded and must be reported to the OFAC. "
"The United States is determined to use the full extent of its financial powers to hold perpetrators of human rights violations accountable in Xinjiang and around the world," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement.
The Uighur Human Rights Project welcomed the targeted sanctions in a statement on Thursday.
"Finally, real consequences have started. It happens at the 11th hour for the Uighurs," said UHRP executive director Omer Kanat. "A global response has been awaited for a long time. Now, there is finally action from a government. Will other countries wait until it is indeed too late?"
