US imposes sanctions on Chinese officials over 'serious' human rights abuse in Tibet

Two senior Chinese officials were slapped with sanctions by the United States over alleged "serious human rights abuse" in Tibet. The news agency AFP reported that the officials are accused of torture and killing of prisoners and forced sterilisation.

Any US assets and criminalised transactions with Wu Yingjie and Zhang Hongbo have been blocked by the US. Wu was China's boss in Tibet from 2016 to 2021, on the other hand, Zhang was China's police chief in the Himalayan region since 2018. It is believed that Zhang is still in charge.

In total, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said that it has sanctioned over 40 individuals and entities across nine countries connected to corruption and human rights abuse. The move is in recognition of International Anti-Corruption Day and Human Rights Day.

Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in the official statement, "Corrupt actors and human rights abusers both rely on deficiencies in the international financial system to perpetrate their activities."

He added, "By exposing the egregious behaviour of these actors, we can help disrupt their activities, dismantle their networks, and starve them of resources."

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Regarding Tibet, the US said that has targeted Tibetans under the "social stability work" programmes for decades. "Tibetans have been subject to serious human rights abuse in the TAR, including arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings, and physical abuse, as part of the PRC’s efforts to severely restrict religious freedoms," the Treasury's statement mentioned.

The Treasury Department said in a statement thatWu directed a policy of "stability" inTibetthat included "serious human rights abuse, including extrajudicial killings, physical abuse, arbitrary arrests and mass detentions."

"Additional abuses during Wu's tenure include forced sterilization, coerced abortion, restrictions on religious and political freedoms and the torture of prisoners," it added.

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