US bars Chinese officials over Xinjiang crackdown

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is slapping travel bans on Chinese officials involved in a massive crackdown against Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in its west.

The State Department says it won’t issue visas to Chinese government and Communist Party officials believed to be responsible for or complicit in mass detentions and abuses in western Xinjiang province. A statement from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo didn’t identify the targeted officials or say how many were affected.

The statement urged China to halt its “campaign of repression” in the region and release all those arbitrarily detained.

This comes a day after the Commerce Department blacklisted Chinese government agencies and a number of Chinese companies that develop facial recognition and other artificial intelligence technology the U.S. says is being used to repress Muslim minorities.