China Sanctions GOP Senators Cruz and Rubio

China has placed sanctions on Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz for their criticism of the communist regime’s human rights abuses.

According to The Washington Free Beacon:

In response to U.S. sanctions on party officials over the country’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims, China unleashed sanctions of its own on Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), as well as Rep. Chris Smith (R., N.J.) and Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback.

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PRC Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that the recent U.S. sanctions on Chinese officials “seriously damaged China-U.S. relations” and that China is determined to protect itself from foreign interference. She said the sanctions would parallel the American sanctions, which ban the entry of certain Chinese officials to the United States.

At least 1 million Chinese Uyghurs are currently detained in “de-radicalization and retraining centers,” where they are forced to work in brutal conditions and disavow their faith. One report alleged Uyghur women are coerced to use birth control and are subjected to compulsory sterilization.

Rubio sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and helped pass the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act in May. “The Chinese Government and Communist Party’s systematic, ongoing efforts to wipe out the ethnic and cultural identities of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang is horrific and will be a stain on humanity should we refuse to act,” Rubio said at the time.

Bummer. I was going to take my family to Beijing for summer vacation, right after visiting Tehran. https://t.co/PXE7jZaZt1

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 13, 2020

Rep. Smith has sponsored legislation condemning China for its human rights abuses, as well.