BANGKOK — China sanctioned a U.S congressman this week for “frequently interfering” in China’s domestic affairs, in its latest effort to express displeasure with U.S. politicians who have criticized China’s policies and actions.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, is the top Democrat on the House Committee on Rules, and he co-chairs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. He is a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which focuses on China’s human rights record.

The sanctions against him are symbolic, since McGovern has no assets or business dealings in China. The sanctions include freezing his assets and properties in China, prohibiting any organization or individual in China from conducting transactions or working with him, and denying him and his family a visa to enter the country, according to a statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Framed as a response to McGovern’s efforts to undermine Chinese territorial sovereignty, the sanctions also prohibit organizations or individuals in China from engaging with him, and ban him and his family from entering Chinese territory, according to a publication from Chinese state-media agency Xinhua.

McGovern called the sanctions absurd and said he would wear them “as a badge of honor.”

“If (Chinese) leaders don’t like it when people speak out against their horrific human rights record, maybe they should improve their horrific human rights record,” McGovern wrote on the X social media platform. “They can start by ending their oppression of Tibetans, ending their genocide in Xinjiang, and ending their crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong.”

He added, “In the meantime, these absurd sanctions against me only serve to highlight how PRC leaders are afraid of free and open debate. They seek to punish and silence those who disagree with them. But the world is watching what they do, and people who care about human rights will not be silent. I will proudly wear this sanction as a badge of honor.”

Beijing has previously sanctioned a number of U.S. lawmakers, former Trump administration officials, and companies.

It sanctioned Rep. Michael McCaul, also chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and former Rep. Michael Gallagher over their support for Taiwan, a self-governed democracy that China claims as its own. In 2020 it sanctioned Rep. Chris Smith and several U.S. senators, including Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.

McGovern and McCaul, along with two senators, introduced bicameral legislation last year calling for stronger U.S. support for Tibet, a region in China where human rights groups have criticized authorities for the treatment of ethnic Tibetans. Congress approved the bill in June, and President Joe Biden signed it into law in July.

The so-called Tibet-China Dispute Act gives the State Department increased authority to counter Chinese disinformation about Tibet and promotes the resumption of talks between Chinese leaders and the Dalai Lama. No such talks have occurred since 2010.

China stands accused of large-scale human rights abuses in Tibet, which the congressman hoped to alleviate with this legislation.

In a statement released on June 12 when the bill passed the House, McGovern said, “The People’s Republic of China has systematically denied Tibetans the right to self-determination and continues to deliberately erase Tibetan religion, culture, and language.”

“The ongoing oppression of the Tibetan people is a grave tragedy, and our bill provides further tools that empower both America and the international community to stand up for justice and peace,” he said.

In a response, Chinese state-sponsored media Xinhua said the Tibet-China Dispute Act “grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs,” violates international law and distorts historical facts to suppress China and encourage Tibetan separatist movements, according to a report by Voice of America.