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China sanctions Senators Rubio, Cruz, Cotton, and others for what it terms 'wrong behaviors'

China's Monday sanctions are a response to a new round the U.S. imposed on Friday.

Published: August 10, 2020 9:24am

Updated: August 10, 2020 10:05am

China announced on Monday that it will sanction 11 Americans as a retaliatory measure for those that the U.S. announced against China on Friday.

Beijing reportedly included on the list Republican Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and Pat Toomey. Michael Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House, and Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth also made the list. China excluded from sanctions any of Donalds Trump's top aides.

During a Monday briefing in Beijing, Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, "In response to the U.S.’s wrong behaviors, China has decided to impose sanctions on those individuals who behaved badly on Hong Kong-related issues."

Last Friday, the United States announced sanctions on 11 Chinese officials, including Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam, in response to their involvement in limiting the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. 

Also hit by Friday's round of U.S. sanctions was Chris Tang, the commissioner of the Hong King Police Force. Under his direction, authorities have cracked down for months on pro-democracy protestors in the former British colony. 

Senators Rubio and Cruz were separately sanctioned last month in retaliation for their efforts to punish Beijing for its treatment of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang. 

Beijing has not yet clarified the terms of the fresh round of sanctions.

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