Adopting a tougher posture towards China, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced visa restrictions on some Chinese officials over human rights abuses and Beijing’s failure to prevent environmental degradation near the headwaters of Asia’s major rivers under the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, 2018.
Making the announcement, Pompeo said that the US will be sanctioning the PRC government and Chinese Communist Party officials involved in the formulation or execution of policies related to access for foreigners to Tibetan areas.
“Access to Tibetan areas is increasingly vital to regional stability, given the PRC's human rights abuses there, as well as Beijing's failure to prevent environmental degradation near the headwaters of Asia's major rivers,” ANI quoted Pompeo as saying.
The US Secretary of State further said that Beijing has systematically obstructed travel to the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) and other Tibetan areas by US diplomats and other officials, journalists, and tourists, while PRC officials and other citizens enjoy far greater access to the United States.
“The United States will continue to work to advance the sustainable economic development, environmental conservation, and humanitarian conditions of Tibetan communities within the People's Republic of China and abroad,” he added.
Pompeo's announcement has made it clear that the US has opened another front against belligerent China over its recent aggressions in the Himalayas and the South China Sea.
Pompeo further said that the US remains “committed to supporting meaningful autonomy for Tibetans, respect for their fundamental and human rights, and the preservation of their unique religious, cultural, and linguistic identity”.
US 'looking at' banning TikTok, other Chinese social media apps
Pompeo's statement comes after US President Donald Trump once again attacked the Communist regime over coronavirus pandemic saying, "China has caused great damage to the United States and the rest of the World!"
Just a few days before, Trump had termed COVID-19 as "plague from China" saying it should have never happened but "they did allow it to happen."
Meanwhile, the US is carefully looking to ban the Chinese apps with Pompeo saying that they are taking the threat posed by Chinese social media apps like TikTok very seriously.
India has already placed a ban on 59 apps with Chinese links, including TikTok and UC Browser, on June 29, saying they were "prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country."
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