China has as of December 4 imposed retaliatory restrictions on the freedoms enjoyed by US diplomats working in China, who must now report their schedules to the Chinese Foreign Ministry ahead of any meetings with state officials, spokeswoman for the ministry Hua Chunying said on Friday
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th December, 2019) China has as of December 4 imposed retaliatory restrictions on the freedoms enjoyed by US diplomats working in China, who must now report their schedules to the Chinese Foreign Ministry ahead of any meetings with state officials, spokeswoman for the ministry Hua Chunying said on Friday.In October, Washington introduced a new requirement that Chinese diplomats working in the United States must notify the State Department in advance about any official visits to universities or research institutes, as well as meetings with officials.
"Indeed, the Chinese side has imposed retaliatory measures ... In response to the restrictions that the US Department of State imposed in October this year on Chinese diplomatic and consular staff, the Chinese side summoned a representative of the US Embassy in China on December 4 and introduced countermeasures starting from that date," Hua said at a briefing.
Hua said that the restrictions were proportional, meaning that US diplomats must now notify the Chinese Foreign Ministry of their plans to meet with local officials five business days in advance.
Diplomatic relations between the two nations have soured after Washington accused Beijing of human rights violations against the Uyghur people in the country's Xinjiang autonomous region. In November, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the introduction of visa restrictions against Chinese government and Communist Party officials over these allegations.
Earlier this week, the US House of Representatives passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019, tasking various government agencies with providing reports on the Uyghur situation, especially on whether certain Chinese officials could be sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
China is reportedly mulling over visa restrictions on US officials and lawmakers who had voiced a critical stance on the matter.
In late August 2018, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reported that large numbers of ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities were being held in political "reeducation camps" in Xinjiang often for long periods, and without being charged or tried under the pretext of countering terrorism and religious extremism. The Chinese foreign ministry has refuted these claims as unfounded and untrue.
