Designation of Chinese Communist Party Official Due to Involvement in Gross Violations of Human Rights

PRESS STATEMENT

ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE

MAY 12, 2021Share

Today, the Department of State transmitted its 2020 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom to the United States Congress.  This Annual Report provides a detailed and factual account of the status of religious freedom in nearly 200 countries and territories and documents reports of violations and abuses committed by governments, non-state actors, and individuals.  The United States is committed to promoting accountability for those responsible for such abuses.

To that end, today I am announcing the designation of Yu Hui, former Office Director of the so-called “Central Leading Group on Preventing and Dealing with Heretical Religions” of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2021.  He is designated for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely the arbitrary detention of Falun Gong practitioners for their spiritual beliefs.  Yu Hui and his immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States.

We will continue to consider all appropriate tools to promote accountability for those responsible for human rights violations and abuses in China and elsewhere.