EU agrees China sanctions over Xinjiang abuses; first in three decades

[March 22, 2021]    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers formally agreed on Monday to blacklist Chinese officials for human rights abuses, one EU diplomat said, the first sanctions against Beijing since an EU arms embargo in 1989 following the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

A perimeter fence is constructed around what is officially known as a vocational skills education centre in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 4, 2018. Picture taken September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

The ministers approved the travel bans and asset freezes on four Chinese individuals and one entity, whose names will be made public later on Monday, accusing them of rights abuses against China's Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang.

EU envoys had pre-approved the measures last week.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott, editing by Sabine Siebold)

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