- China will sanction 11 U.S. citizens in retaliation for similar U.S. sanctions imposed on the country last week.
- GOP Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are one of the sanctioned.
- Last week, the US sanctioned Hong Kong’s appointed chief executive Carrie Lam and several other current and former officials for maintaining greater control over the region.
- Rubio and Cruz had previously imposed sanctions on China’s treatment of the Uighurs, a minority Muslim group in Xinjiang.
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China has plans to include 11 U.S. citizens, including GOP Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio after the US imposed similar measures on the country last week.
The announcement comes after the US sanctioned Hong Kong’s appointed chief executive Carrie Lam and several other current and former officials for maintaining greater control over the region.
“The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong and we will use our tools and authorities to target those who undermine their autonomy,” Secretary of State Steven T. Mnuchin said in a statement.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the State Department did not provide additional information on what the sanctions would entail.
“In response to the wrongful actions of the United States, China has decided to impose sanctions today on those individuals who are behaving on Hong Kong-related issues,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, according to it Journal.
According to CNN, Rubio and Cruz were sanctioned alongside Sens. Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, and Pat Toomey, as well as rep. Chris Smith.
China had earlier imposed sanctions on Rubio and Cruz last month after the US passed legislation to sanction the country over its treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. Rubio is extremely vocal about the human rights abuses caused by the minority group, including their placement in detention centers. China has repeatedly claimed that the camps are “re-education” camps, denying any human rights abuses.
“In any case, I had no intention of traveling to China,” Rubio told Fox News’ American Newsroom last month. “I do not think they passed the welcome. I am actually proud of it. Every time there is a totalitarian, evil regime against you, you know you are on the right side.”
Following the announcement of Chinese sanctions on Monday, Rubio tweeted: “I do not want to be paranoid, but I’m starting to think they do not like me.”
—Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 10, 2020
Other U.S. citizens sanctioned by China included Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch, Carl Gershman of the National Endowment for Democracy, and Michael Abramowitz of Freedom House, The Journal reported.
“The Chinese government has just announced unspecified ‘sanctions’ against me. That is not much more than an attempt to divert attention from its heinous attack on the rights of the people of Hong Kong,” Roth said. sei in a tweet.
Roth, Gershman and Abramowitz all support pro-democracy efforts in Hong Kong.
