China Imposes Sanctions Including Entry Ban on US Congressman McGovern

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced sanctions, including a ban on entry, against U.S. Representative Jim McGovern (Democrat, Massachusetts) citing "interference in internal affairs." McGovern has been a vocal figure raising concerns about human rights issues in China, such as allegations of forced labor involving the Uyghur ethnic group and the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

On the 31st, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on its website, "Jim McGovern, a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts, has frequently interfered in China's internal affairs over recent years and engaged in words and actions that infringe upon China's sovereignty, security, and development interests." Accordingly, under China's "Foreign Sanctions Law," sanctions will be imposed on Representative McGovern.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

As part of these sanctions, McGovern and his family will be prohibited from obtaining visas and entering China, as well as from conducting transactions or cooperation with organizations or individuals within China. Various assets, including movable and immovable property in China, will also be frozen.

McGovern introduced a resolution in 2019 urging the safe return of asylum seekers from the Tiananmen incident in China, and in 2020, he advocated for legislation banning the import of products made through forced labor by Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, taking a strong stance on human rights issues in China.

In 2021, he nominated the "Hong Kong pro-democracy movement" for the Nobel Peace Prize, and last year, he publicly called for the cancellation of Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee's attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, criticizing the enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the crackdown on protests.

Earlier, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had imposed sanctions on Michael McCaul (Republican, Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Michael Gallagher, former chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (Republican), for their support of Taiwan.