US State Department on Friday imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials and others who have used or threatened to use violence, the release of private information or other coercive tactics to intimidate critics.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not name those sanctioned in a written statement in which he accused the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) United Front Work Department of coercing and bullying “those who would oppose Beijing’s policies.”
“The United Front frequently intimidates members of academia, businesses, civil society groups, and Chinese diaspora communities, including members of ethnic and religious minority communities who speak out against horrific human rights abuses taking place in Xinjiang, Tibet, and elsewhere in China,” he said.
He further said China uses coercive tactics to target individuals viewed as working against CCP interests.
“These tactics include the release of personal details (“doxing”) of their targets and even their family…