The United States has announced visa bans on certain employees of Chinese technology companies, accusing them of aiding and abetting human rights abuses.
According to a statement from the US State Department, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “The United States is building the hopes of the world’s most oppressed and the voices of those who have been silenced.”
“We have been particularly vocal about the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights abuses, which are among the worst in the world,” he said.
Mike Pompeo announced that “today the State Department is imposing visa restrictions on certain employees of Chinese technology companies for providing materials to the government to support global human rights abuses.”
“If the Secretary of State has reason to believe that the entry of a foreigner would adversely affect US foreign policy, then a foreigner under section 212A3C of the Immigration and Nationality Act is unacceptable to the United States,” he said.
Explaining the sanctions, he said: “Among the companies affected by today’s decision are Huawei, a secret arm of the Communist Party that censors political opponents and runs detention camps in Xinjiang and all over China. It helps to subjugate the citizens.
He described the companies affected by the ban as “specific employees of Huawei who provide material support to the Communist Party government for human rights abuses.”
“Communications companies around the world should consider themselves on notice, if they are doing business with Huawei, they are doing business with human rights abusers,” Pompeo said in a statement.
The United States on July 10 announced sanctions against Chinese politicians responsible for human rights abuses against the Muslim minority in Xinjiang.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Chen Kongwo, a key member of the Communist Party of China, and three other officials over allegations of human rights abuses against Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
The trade war between China and the United States began in 2018 when the US President increased tariffs on Chinese products and China responded.
In May of this year, the Trump administration tightened restrictions on the supply of US technology and software to smartphone company Huawei.
An order issued by the US government announced that Huawei and its suppliers would be barred from using US technology and software.
The ban will take effect in September, barring companies using US-made machinery and software around the world from designing or manufacturing chips for Huawei or its subsidiaries.
Earlier, the United States extended the sanctions order on Huawei until May 2021, justifying the Trump administration’s threats to national security.
The United States has accused Huawei of having close ties to the Chinese government and may use its spying equipment, after which Huawei was blacklisted in the United States following an executive order from President Donald Trump.