4 yıl önce

US designates China's policy on Muslim Uighurs as genocide

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says China has committed crimes against humanity in their treatment of the predominantly Muslim Uighurs and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

AFP

This file photo taken on May 31, 2019 shows a watchtower on a high-security facility near what is believed to be a "re-education camp" where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained, on the outskirts of Hotan, in China's northwestern Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

On his way out the door, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has lashed out anew at China by declaring that its policies on Muslims and ethnic minorities in the western Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region constitute “crimes against humanity” and “genocide.”

Pompeo made the determination on Tuesday just 24 hours before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

“After careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that since at least March 2017, the People’s Republic of China, under the direction and control of the Chinese Communist Party, has committed crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uighurs and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang,” Pompeo said in a statement.

The rarely used designation is sure to provoke an angry response from Beijing.

There was no immediate response from the incoming Biden team, although several members have been sympathetic to such a designation in the past.

Pompeo’s determination does not come with any immediate repercussions although the legal implications mean the US must take it into account in formulating policy toward China.

Trump administration on China

The US has spoken out and taken action, implementing a range of sanctions against senior Chinese Communist Party leaders and state-run enterprises that fund the architecture of repression across Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

Many of those accused of having taken part in the repression are already under US sanctions.

The “genocide” designation means new measures will be easier to impose.

“In addition, after careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that the PRC, under the direction and control of the CCP, has committed genocide against the predominantly Muslim Uighurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uighurs by the Chinese party-state."

Tuesday's move is the latest in a series of steps the outgoing Trump administration has taken against China.

Pressure on Beijing

Since last year, the administration has steadily ramped up pressure on Beijing, imposing sanctions on numerous officials and companies for their activities in Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong and the South China Sea.

Those penalties have gotten harsher since the beginning of last year when President Donald Trump and Pompeo began to accuse China of trying to cover up the coronavirus pandemic.

Just on Saturday, Pompeo lifted restrictions on US diplomatic contacts with Taiwanese officials, prompting a stern rebuke from China, which regards the island as a renegade province.

Halted import

Five days ago, the administration announced it would halt imports of cotton and tomatoes from Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region with Customs and Border Protection officials saying they would block products from there suspected of being produced with forced labor.

The region is a major global supplier of cotton, so the order could have significant effects on international commerce.

The Trump administration has already blocked imports from individual companies linked to forced labor in the region, and the US has imposed sanctions on Communist Party officials with prominent roles in the campaign.

Crimes against humanity

China has imprisoned more than 1 million people, including Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups, in a vast network of "concentration camps," according to US officials and human rights groups.

People have been subjected to torture, sterilisation and political indoctrination in addition to forced labour as part of an assimilation campaign in a region whose inhabitants are ethnically and culturally distinct from the Han Chinese majority, critics say.

The Associated Press wrote about widespread forced birth control among the Uighurs last year, including mass sterilisation.

China has denied all the charges, but Uighur forced labour has been linked by reporting from the AP to various products imported to the US, including clothing and electronic goods such as cameras and computer monitors. China says its policies in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region aim only to promote economic and social development in the region and stamp out radicalism.

It also rejects criticism of what it considers its internal affairs.