Canada, EU, U.K., U.S. sanction Chinese officials

A 27-nation bloc froze the assets of a Xinjiang bureau it accused of controlling the Chinese province where Uyghur Muslims have faced persecution. Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States on Monday joined the European Union in placing sanctions on four senior officials in the northwestern region. In addition to losing access to assets, the officials can no longer legally travel inside the EU, and Europeans can’t support them financially. China has faced accusations of human rights abuses for how it treats the minority group.

Has China responded? Beijing retaliated with similar sanctions against four institutions and 10 individuals, including German Adrian Zenz, who has reported on the oppression of minority groups in Tibet and Xinjiang. China initially denied it put Uyghurs in forced labor camps and then rebranded them as reeducation centers. It has denied charges of human rights abuses.

Dig deeper: Read June Cheng’s report about the United States designating China’s actions in Xinjiang as genocide.