China hits out at US after report of new visa restrictions
BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday accused critics in the U.S. government of “an escalation of political suppression” against Beijing following a report of new visa restrictions on members of China’s ruling Communist Party and their immediate family members.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said China would “make representations” to the U.S. following the report Thursday in the New York Times that such people would be limited to one-month, single-entry visas.
Hua called Washington’s approach “totally inconsistent with the U.S.’s own interests,” and said it would damage America’s global image.
“I think it is obvious to all that this is an escalation of political suppression by some extreme anti-China forces in the U.S. out of strong ideological prejudice and deep-rooted Cold War mentality against China,” Hua said at a daily briefing.
The Times report could not immediately be confirmed, but follows earlier hints that Washington was planning such a move, possibly even including a total ban on all 92 million Communist Party members. It wasn't clear how the restrictions would be enforced since many members do not play active public roles in the party's institutions.
The restrictions would be the latest punitive measure taken against China's leadership and economy amid sharpening disputes over human rights, the coronavirus pandemic, trade, technology, Taiwan and a host of other issues.
On Wednesday, the U.S. said it would block imports from a major Chinese producer of cotton goods because of its reliance on workers detained as part of a crackdown on ethnic minorities in China’s northwest.
Washington has already slapped travel bans and financial sanctions on officials connected to the crackdown on Uighurs and other Chinese Muslim groups...
