US sanctions Chinese government officials over treatment of Uygurs in Xinjiang
The United States has imposed sanctions on three senior Chinese officials it deems responsible for human rights abuses targeting ethnic and religious minorities in the western part of the country.The sanctions specifically name XUAR party secretary Chen Quanguo and three other top officials of the region’s leadership, as well as other unidentified people.Secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a statement: “The United States will not stand idly by as the Chinese Communist party carries out human rights abuses targeting Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs and members of other minority groups in Xinjiang, to include forced labor, arbitrary mass detention, and forced population control, and attempts to erase their culture and Muslim faith.”Pompeo said the sanctions were authorized by a 2017 executive orde