The sanctions target Yu Hui, described as a former top official in charge of a government office engaged in the alleged persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, a religious movement that gained popularity in the 1990s, only to be subsequently banned by the Chinese government. “We will continue to consider all appropriate tools to promote accountability for those responsible for human rights violations and abuses in China and elsewhere,” the secretary said in the statement. ADVERTISEMENT Yu is identified as the former director of the “so-called ‘Central Leading Group on Preventing and ...