The Trump administration is weighing options to bar all members of China's Communist Party and their families from traveling to the United States, a person with knowledge of the issue disclosed on Thursday, a decision that would exacerbate the already strained ties between Beijing and Washington.
A copy of a proposed executive order has begun to be circulated by senior officials debating the matter, but negotiations are at an early phase, and the matter has not yet been brought to U.S. President Donald Trump, said the source, who requested anonymity.
A draft of a presidential proclamation has been readied which will also give the U.S. government the power to repeal visas from the party members and their families who are in the U.S., sources revealed.
The order would cite the same regulation in the Immigration and Nationality Act that was used in 2017 to restrict residents of a number of predominantly Muslim nations from entering the U.S.
The Chinese Communist Party has 92 million members, and based on a New York Times report, it would be very hard for the U.S. government to quickly determine if a traveler is a member of the party.
Chinese scholar Jude Blanchette of the Center for Strategic International Studies told the NYT that the very large majority of communist party members are not involved or have no input into China's policymaking.
Thus, going after the entire party membership would be like the Chinese government penalizing all Republicans because of their disappointment with Trump, the report added.
Such a prohibition, if approved, could heavily impact the ruling Communist Party from the highest levels down to the rank-and-file. The ban would also surely draw retribution against American citizens who travel to China, which could include not only government officials but also company executives, potentially hurting U.S. interests in the country.
Hua Chunying, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, stated earlier that such move by Washington, if implemented, would be "pathetic."
U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo, asked about the reports on Fox News, disclosed that the Trump administration was considering "pushing back against the Chinese Communist Party," AFP reported, as posted on Yahoo News.
Pompeo said they want to make sure "we do it in a way that reflects America's tradition, and there are lots of ideas that are under evaluation by the president and our team," the report added.
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told members of the media that they keep every option on the table with regard to China.
