US Sanctions Chinese Officials, Security Agency for Human Rights Violations

The U.S. sanctioned a Chinese security agency and four officials for human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. The sanctions, announced July 9 by the Treasury and State departments, came about a month after President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that authorized sanctions on Chinese officials for human rights violations against the country’s Uighur population (see 2006170064).

The sanctions target the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (XPSB) along with several current and former Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) officials. Among the designations are XUAR Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, former Deputy Party Secretary Zhu Hailun, XPSB party Secretary Wang Mingshan and former XPSB Party Secretary Huo Liujun.

The XPSB and the other former and current Chinese officials used “repressive tactics” to target ethnic minorities, including “mass detentions and surveillance,” Treasury said. The surveillance includes the use of a computer system using artificial intelligence -- called the Integrated Joint Operations Platform -- to track the movements and activities of Uighurs. Treasury also referenced the Trump administration's recently issued guidance on supply chains in the Xinjiang regions that warns U.S. exporters about shipping surveillance technology to Xinjiang (see 2007010040).

Along with the Treasury sanctions, the State Department announced designations and visa restrictions against Chen, Zhu and Wang and issued visa restrictions on other Chinese officials involved in the detention of Uighurs. The agency urged other countries that “share our concerns … to join us in condemning this behavior.”