On Wednesday, the State Department announced the termination of a US diplomat following his acknowledgment of a romantic involvement with a Chinese woman suspected of having associations with the Chinese Communist Party.
This dismissal marks the first instance of enforcement regarding a prohibition on such relationships that was established late last year during the Biden administration.
Earlier this year, the Associated Press revealed that in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration, the State Department implemented restrictions on all American officials stationed in China, including their family members and contractors with security clearances, prohibiting any romantic or sexual relationships with citizens of China.
According to Tommy Pigott, a spokesperson for the State Department, the diplomat was let go from the foreign service after President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio evaluated the situation and found that he had “acknowledged hiding a romantic relationship with a Chinese national connected to the Chinese Communist Party.”
“Under Secretary Rubio’s leadership, we will uphold a zero-tolerance policy for any staff member found to be jeopardizing our nation’s security,” Pigott stated.
While the statement did not disclose the diplomat’s name, he and his partner had been featured in a secretly recorded video shared online by conservative activist James O’Keefe.
