Beijing: China has announced a ban against 11 US leaders and heads of organizations advocating democracy. They also include Senator Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. However, the restriction does not specify what they will be like. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Monday that these 11 leaders and organization heads misbehaved on issues related to Hong Kong.
It is noteworthy that China took action to suppress the voice of protest after the imposition of its National Security Act in the semi-autonomous Chinese city of Hong Kong last month. The number of American leaders and organization heads banned by China’s Foreign Ministry is equal to the number of officials in Hong Kong and China who were banned by the US last week.
China, meanwhile, showed its determination not to succumb to such pressure on Monday by arresting prominent independent media industrialist Jimmy Lai and raiding the publisher’s headquarters. Other US leaders who have been banned by China’s Foreign Ministry have named Senators Josh Howley and Tom Cotton, and House of Representatives Chris Smith. Apart from this, the names of heads of other organizations including the National Endowment for Democracy and Freedom House are also included in the ban list.
Beijing imposed a travel ban on Rubio, Cruise and Smith last month. In fact, the US had announced that it would take similar steps against Chinese authorities affiliated with the action taken against Muslims in Xinjiang, China’s northern western region.
