The Chinese regime will sanction four people who work for U.S. nonprofits that promote democracy, in apparent retaliation for recent U.S. moves to punish Chinese officials for rights abuses.
China’s foreign ministry said the four U.S. individuals would be banned from entering China beginning on Monday. They were identified as John Knaus, senior director of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED); Manpreet Anand, a regional director of the National Democratic Institute (NDI); Kelvin Sit, the NDI’s program director for Hong Kong; and Crystal Rosario, a specialist at NDI.
“The U.S. behavior blatantly interferes in Hong Kong affairs and grossly interferes in China’s domestic affairs,” foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a regular news briefing Monday.
No further details were provided regarding the four people.
The NED is a nonprofit established by Congress in 1983. It provides grants to groups working to build democratic institutions and spread democratic ballots around the world. The NDI, an affiliate of the NED, is a Washington-based nonprofit that supports democratic institutions and practices globally, according to its website.
The NDI noted that the sanctions were similar to those slapped in August against the organization and its president, Derek Mitchell.
“These sanctions may be yet another effort to silence NDI, but we will continue our work to support democratic institutions, promote constructive citizen engagement, and empower democratic voices, wherever they are,” Mitchell said in a statement Monday.
The nonprofit added that it has “worked legally and transparently in Hong Kong with diverse partners from across the political spectrum in support of the democratic rights promised in the Basic Law and Sino-British Joint Declaration,” referring to the city’s mini-constitution and the treaty governing the terms of Hong Kong’s handover from Britain to the Chinese regime.
The NED did not immediately return a request for comment.