{"id":4261,"date":"2018-10-24T18:22:15","date_gmt":"2018-10-24T18:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iuhrdf.org\/en\/2018\/10\/24\/us-criticizes-treatment-uighurs-latest-china-row-read-more-httpsnewsinfoinquirernet1035032us\/"},"modified":"2018-10-24T18:22:15","modified_gmt":"2018-10-24T18:22:15","slug":"us-criticizes-treatment-uighurs-latest-china-row-read-more-httpsnewsinfoinquirernet1035032us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/us-criticizes-treatment-uighurs-latest-china-row-read-more-httpsnewsinfoinquirernet1035032us\/","title":{"rendered":"US criticizes treatment of Uighurs in latest China row Read more: https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/1035032\/us-criticizes-treatment-of-uighurs-in-latest-china-row#ixzz5UsFftUkY Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON\u2013The United States on Friday denounced China\u2019s treatment of its Uighur Muslims in unusually strong terms, adding to a growing list of disputes in increasingly turbulent relations between the two powers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced alarm after a United Nations report described the mass internment of Uighurs under the pretext of preventing extremism in the western Xinjiang region where the minority group is concentrated.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHundreds of thousands and possibly millions of Uighurs are held against their will in so-called re-education camps where they\u2019re forced to endure severe political indoctrination and other awful abuses,\u201d Pompeo said in a speech on the state of religious freedom around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTheir religious beliefs are decimated,\u201d Pompeo said.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a letter to Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, both Republican and Democratic members of Congress late last month called for sanctions on Chinese officials implicated in the internment of Uighurs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pompeo did not say whether the United States would take punitive measures.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even so, the remarks were striking for their tone, with President Donald Trump\u2019s administration putting human rights on the back seat in relations with allies such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Trump administration itself has faced criticism at home and abroad for its stance on Muslims, with the president as a candidate calling for a complete ban on Muslims entering the United States and, soon after taking office, barring entry to citizens of several Muslim-majority countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pompeo also expressed concern about the fate of Christians in China, who he said had been targeted in a government crackdown.<\/span><\/p>\n

The government, he said, has been \u201cclosing churches, burning Bibles and ordering followers to sign papers renouncing their faith.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

China defends treatment<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In an interview earlier in the week, Pompeo had described China as a greater threat to the United States than Russia, saying that Beijing was a \u201cnon-transparent government.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt treats our intellectual property horribly, it treats its religious minorities horribly,\u201d he told Fox News.<\/span><\/p>\n

China has rejected the findings of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said last month that the report was \u201cbased on so-called information that is yet to be verified and has no factual basis.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hua added that China was doing what was needed to combat extremism and terrorism on its western frontier.<\/span><\/p>\n

Uighurs have long complained of systematic discrimination in the region, which activists call East Turkestan, with tensions especially rife in areas that have seen large-scale migration from China\u2019s dominant Han ethnicity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Uyghur Human Rights Project, an advocacy group that uses an alternative spelling for the minority group\u2019s name, has estimated that an entire 10 percent of the population has been detained as part of an indoctrination campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rising disputes <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The fresh focus on human rights comes as trade disputes mount between the world\u2019s two largest economies.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two countries will launch new tariffs on Monday, with Washington targeting $200 billion in Chinese exports and Beijing hitting $60 billion worth of American products.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two sides have already imposed tariffs on $50 billion in goods from each country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump in his first year appeared to relish a chummy rapport with Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he invited to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. But relations have wobbled as Trump takes an increasingly hard line to protect domestic industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moving a step further, the United States said Thursday it was placing financial sanctions on the Equipment Development Department of China\u2019s defense ministry as well as its top administrator for violating sanctions on Russia by buying Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets and S-400 surface-to-air missiles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russia and China both lashed out at the move, with Beijing urging the United States to withdraw the sanctions or \u201cbear the consequences.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: <\/span>Agence France-Presse<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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