China Sanctions Lawmaker Who Worked on UFLPA

China last week imposed sanctions against U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., for frequently making "remarks and actions that interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine China's sovereignty, security and development interests," China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry said it will impose an asset freeze and travel ban on McGovern.

McGovern was one of the drafters of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which bans the import of goods made by companies found to use Uyghur forced labor (see 2305110053).

If Chinese Communist Party "leaders don’t like it when people speak out against their horrific human rights record, maybe they should improve their horrific human rights record," McGovern said in a social media post. "They can start by ending their oppression of Tibetans, ending their genocide in Xinjiang, and ending their crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong."