NY Times: US Weighs Human Rights Abuse Sanctions on Chinese

The Trump administration is considering sanctions against Chinese senior officials and companies as punishment for the detention of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Uighurs and other minority Muslims, The New York Times reported Monday.

Citing unnamed current and former officials, the Times reported the administration has been discussing sanctions over the human rights issue for months at the White House, Treasury Department, and State Department.

But the talks ramped up two weeks ago after members of Congress asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to impose sanctions on seven Chinese officials, the Times reported.

If approved, the penalties would escalate a bitter trade dispute between the United States and China, and raise tensions over China's role in an impasse over the denuclearization of North Korea.

A United Nations panel said last month it had credible reports more than 1 million Uighurs were being detained by the Chinese government in re-education camps in western Xinjiang, where they were forced to pledge loyalty to the Communist Party.

China denied the report.

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