China sanctions US lawmaker for criticizing Beijing’s human rights record

China on Wednesday sanctioned U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, accusing him of “interfering in China’s internal affairs,” though the congressman said it would not deter him from continuing to speak out against the Chinese government’s poor human rights record in Tibet.

The sanctions against McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, prohibit him from engaging in any transactions or other activities with organizations and individuals in China. They also bar him and his family from entering the country, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. 

The sanctions took effect on Wednesday as a “countermeasure” against McGovern’s actions and statements that “interfere in China’s internal affairs and undermine China’s sovereignty, security and development interests,” the ministry said. 

McGovern told Radio Free Asia that the sanctions’ timing suggests they are a reaction to a U.S. bill on Tibet that President Joe Biden signed into law earlier this month and to McGovern’s meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, at his home in Dharamsala, India, in June. 

“If PRC [People’s Republic of China] leaders don’t like it when people speak out against their horrific human rights record, maybe they should improve their horrific human rights record,” he said. “They can start by ending their oppression of Tibetans, ending their genocide in Xinjiang, and ending their crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong.”  

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McGovern introduced and was among the key sponsors of the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act, also known as the Resolve Tibet Act, that supports Tibetan self-determination and urges China to resume dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives to reach a peaceful resolution to the dispute between Tibet and China. 

It also empowers the U.S. State Department to counter China’s disinformation about Tibet and encourages the Chinese government to “address the aspirations of the Tibetan people regarding their distinct historical, cultural, religious and linguistic identity.”

A vocal critic

McGovern has been a vocal critic of China’s human rights record and a firm Tibet supporter, having spoken out openly in the past on several humanitarian issues, particularly on China’s human rights violations in Tibet and Xinjiang and the impact of Beijing’s assimilation policies on Tibetan cultural, religious and linguistic identity. 

Asked whether Beijing’s latest move will result in any change in his stance on Tibet, McGovern responded, “Absolutely not.”

McGovern was also the author of the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act which former U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law in December 2018. The law denies Chinese government officials access to the United States if they are responsible for creating or implementing restrictions on American government officials, journalists, independent observers and tourists seeking access to Tibet.

China has also imposed sanctions and other restrictions on prominent U.S. citizens.

In 2022, Beijing sanctioned U.S. historian Miles Yu and Todd Stein, a deputy staff director of the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China who previously worked as a lobbyist for the International Campaign for Tibet. They were banned from traveling to China or contacting anyone there. 

Last year, China also imposed sanctions against Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, one of the key sponsors of the Resolve Tibet Act who led a U.S. bipartisan congressional delegation to Dharamasala to meet with the Dalai Lama in June. 

Prior to the visit, China warned the delegation against making the trip. Later, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian criticized the trip and said the U.S. must not sign the bill into law. 

At the time, Lin said China would take steps to “firmly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests.” 

Edited by Tenzin Pema for RFA Tibetan and by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.