US toughens visa rules for members of Chinese Communist Party

Ebangla Bureau

PRC has denounced  U  S for issuing new rules to restrict visit of  members of ruling Communist Party (CCP) and their families  to the north American country. A State Department spokesman says  the new policy, which took immediate effect, limits the maximum duration of travel visas for party members and their families to one month from 10 years. Previously, party members, like other Chinese citizens, could obtain visitor visas for the US that were valid for up to 10 years. Travel visas for party members will also be limited to a single entry rather than multiple entries as was possible before. The spokesperson said, this is in keeping with our ongoing policy, regulatory, and law-enforcement action across the US Government to protect our nation from the CCP’s malign influence. Under the US Immigration and Nationality Act, the Department of State has the authority to limit visa validity of groups of individuals hostile to US values. added. The measure was aimed at protecting the nation from the party’s “malign influence,” it said, adding the party works to “influence Americans through propaganda, economic coercion, and other nefarious activities. “The party, which has more than 90 million members, also “sends agents to the United States to unabashedly monitor, threaten, and report on Chinese nationals and Chinese-American groups, “the Spokesperson said in a statement. The Trump administration has sought to cement the outgoing president’s tough-on-China legacy, and relations between the world’s two largest economies have sunk to their lowest point. Reacting strongly to the restriction imposed by the Trump Administration, Chinese Foreign Ministry  says it is  clearly an escalated form of political oppression towards China by some extreme anti-China forces in the U.S. who act out of intense ideological bias and a deep-rooted Cold War mentality.” Meanwhile, President-elect Joe  Biden has said he would first consult with allies to craft a more comprehensive response to Chinese trade tactics. He has also said he would forcefully address China’s human rights violations, including mass detentions in the western region of Xinjiang. Chinese officials have worried that  Biden will be more effective than President Trump at leading a broad global pushback against China, reported NYTimes. Picture  courtesy :Reuters