The Donald Trump administration on Dec. 10 sanctioned a Chinese official for his involvement in “gross human rights violations” against Falun Gong practitioners—a spiritual practice persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1999.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would bar entry to Huang Yuanxiong, a police chief at the Wucun police station in Xiamen city, southern Fujian Province. The restriction also applies to Huang’s wife.
“Huang is associated with particularly severe violations of religious freedom of Falun Gong practitioners, namely his involvement in the detention and interrogation of Falun Gong practitioners for practicing their beliefs,” Pompeo said in a statement.
The sanction, made on International Human Rights Day, marks the first time the United States has punished a CCP official over their role in persecuting adherents of Falun Gong.
