U.S. lawmakers from both parties have raised alarm over China’s new ethnic unity law, warning it could further restrict religious and cultural freedoms of Tibetans and Uighurs. The concerns follow similar criticism from the European Parliament, putting renewed international focus on Beijing’s policies toward ethnic minorities.

U.S. Senators flag threat to Tibetans & Uyghurs under China’s ethnic unity law

<p>On the final full day of the Trump presidency, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that China was carrying out a genocide against Uighurs and other Muslim people, the toughest condemnation yet of Beijing’s crackdown in its far western region of Xinjiang.</p>

<p>The announcement was welcomed by exiled Uighurs as a long-desired recognition of the extent of oppression in Xinjiang. It was also criticized as a move that was delayed for too long and tainted by the Trump administration’s loss of credibility and efforts to overturn the presidential election results.\</p>

<p><strong>Watch |&nbsp;</strong></p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/china-committed-genocide-against-uighur-muslims-says-former-secretary-of-state-mike-pompeo-358251/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>The incoming Biden administration has indicated its general agreement with the designation. A spokesperson for Joe Biden said during the presidential campaign last year that Beijing’s policies in the region amounted to genocide.</p>

<p>Here’s a look at the Xinjiang region, China’s crackdown there and what the genocide declaration could mean for the global response.</p>

<h2><strong>Where is Xinjiang and why does it matter to China?</strong></h2>

<p>Xinjiang, in the far northwestern region of China, has large numbers of Uighurs, Kazakhs and other mostly Muslim groups. It is culturally, linguistically and religiously more similar to Central Asia than the Chinese interior.</p>

<p>The geography is dominated by the vast Taklamakan Desert in the center of the region, multiple mountain ranges and traditional oasis cities in the south. The area is rich in natural resources and has some of China’s largest oil deposits.</p>

<p>The Communist Party has ruled the region with a heavy hand since it took over control in 1949. To many Uighurs, Xinjiang is known as East Turkestan, a name shared by two short-lived independent republics that existed before the Communist takeover.</p>

<h2><strong>What is happening there?</strong></h2>

<p>Uighurs have long bridled at Chinese control of the region, which has seen an influx of ethnic Chinese migrants and an increase in restrictions on local language, culture and religion. Minority groups in Xinjiang say they are not given jobs or contracts because of widespread racial discrimination.</p>

<p>The resentment has sometimes boiled over into violence, including attacks on police officers and civilians. In 2009, nearly 200 people, mostly Han Chinese, were killed in riots in Urumqi, the regional capital.</p>

<p>In 2016, a new Communist Party boss, Chen Quanguo, transferred to Xinjiang from Tibet. He began carrying out an intensified campaign of repression, putting large numbers of Uighurs, Kazakhs and other minority groups in re-education camps.</p>

<p>Under Chen, the use of surveillance, in the form of both high-tech facial recognition monitoring and traditional measures like police checkpoints, surged in the region. China has also attempted to control the growth of the Uighur population, and researchers say it has used repressive methods such as forced sterilizations.</p>

<p>Large numbers of children in Xinjiang have been placed in boarding schools designed to assimilate and indoctrinate them, according to the government’s published plans. And authorities have carried out the widespread destruction of mosques and shrines while turning others into tourist sites.</p>

<h2><strong>What are the camps?</strong></h2>

<p>Officials have held 1 million or more people in internment camps in Xinjiang, the country’s most sweeping mass detention program since the Mao era. A wide range of behavior can lead to detention, including acts of religious devotion, travel to certain countries, violations of birth restrictions or installing cellphone apps that allow encrypted messaging.</p>

<p>Authorities at first denied the mass detentions. Then they acknowledged what they called a vocational training program meant to curb terrorism, separatism and religious extremism by giving people job skills and Chinese language training. Those who have been held in camps describe a rigorous prison environment filled with monotonous political indoctrination and, for many, terrorizing bouts of violence and physical abuse by guards.</p>

<p>In 2019, Chinese authorities said they had wound down the program and released most of those who were held, an assertion that was met with wide skepticism by researchers and activist groups. While there were signs that some camps had been closed and some of those held released, China has also continued to expand detention facilities in the region, particularly high-security prisons.</p>

<p>The region also experienced a record surge in arrests, trials and prison sentences, according to official data released in 2019. In addition, the authorities have pushed work programs in Xinjiang, including the transfer of workers within the region and to other parts of China, that critics say most likely involve coercion and forced labor.</p>

<h2><strong>Why, in the U.S. view at least, do China’s actions in Xinjiang amount to genocide?</strong></h2>

<p>In his statement, Pompeo said Chinese authorities in Xinjiang had committed crimes against humanity that include arbitrary imprisonment, forced sterilization, torture, forced labor and “draconian restrictions” on freedom of religion, expression and movement.</p>

<p>He added that the United States believes that Chinese authorities have committed genocide because they had “engaged in the forced assimilation and eventual erasure of a vulnerable ethnic and religious minority group.”</p>

<p>The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which has been ratified by at least 149 countries including China, defines genocide as any of these acts committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group: Killing its members; causing them serious bodily or mental harm; deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to cause the group’s physical destruction; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.</p>

<h2><strong>How has the world responded?</strong></h2>

<p>The global response to the repression in Xinjiang has been relatively muted, an indication of China’s global clout. Over the past year, the United States has imposed sanctions on Chinese officials, companies and government bodies operating in Xinjiang.</p>

<p>The genocide declaration is the sharpest response thus far. Last year, a Canadian parliamentary subcommittee reached the same conclusion. The declaration by Pompeo could lead to further penalties by the United States, but those decisions will now be in the hands of the Biden administration.</p>

<p>One test will be whether the Biden administration will try to persuade U.S. allies to support efforts to confront Beijing over its oppression in Xinjiang in a way the Trump administration did not. During his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, Antony Blinken, Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, indicated that the United States would try to lobby support from other nations.</p>

<p>“When we are working with, not denigrating, our allies, that’s a source of strength for us in dealing with China,” he said.</p>


On the final full day of the Trump presidency, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that China was carrying out a genocide against Uighurs and other Muslim people, the toughest condemnation yet of Beijing’s crackdown in its far western region of Xinjiang.

On the final full day of the Trump presidency, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that China was carrying out a genocide against Uighurs and other Muslim people, the toughest condemnation yet of Beijing’s crackdown in its far western region of Xinjiang. The announcement was welcomed by exiled Uighurs as a long-desired recognition of the extent of oppression in Xinjiang. It was also criticized as a move that was delayed for too long and tainted by the Trump administration’s loss of credibility and efforts to overturn the presidential election results.\ Watch | The incoming Biden administration has indicated its general agreement with the designation. A spokesperson for Joe Biden said during the presidential campaign last year that Beijing’s policies in the region amounted to genocide. Here’s a look at the Xinjiang region, China’s crackdown there and what the genocide declaration could mean for the global response. Where is Xinjiang and why does it matter to China? Xinjiang, in the far northwestern region of China, has large numbers of Uighurs, Kazakhs and other mostly Muslim groups. It is culturally, linguistically and religiously more similar to Central Asia than the Chinese interior. The geography is dominated by the vast Taklamakan Desert in the center of the region, multiple mountain ranges and traditional oasis cities in the south. The area is rich in natural resources and has some of China’s largest oil deposits. The Communist Party has ruled the region with a heavy hand since it took over control in 1949. To many Uighurs, Xinjiang is known as East Turkestan, a name shared by two short-lived independent republics that existed before the Communist takeover. What is happening there? Uighurs have long bridled at Chinese control of the region, which has seen an influx of ethnic Chinese migrants and an increase in restrictions on local language, culture and religion. Minority groups in Xinjiang say they are not given jobs or contracts because of widespread racial discrimination. The resentment has sometimes boiled over into violence, including attacks on police officers and civilians. In 2009, nearly 200 people, mostly Han Chinese, were killed in riots in Urumqi, the regional capital. In 2016, a new Communist Party boss, Chen Quanguo, transferred to Xinjiang from Tibet. He began carrying out an intensified campaign of repression, putting large numbers of Uighurs, Kazakhs and other minority groups in re-education camps. Under Chen, the use of surveillance, in the form of both high-tech facial recognition monitoring and traditional measures like police checkpoints, surged in the region. China has also attempted to control the growth of the Uighur population, and researchers say it has used repressive methods such as forced sterilizations. Large numbers of children in Xinjiang have been placed in boarding schools designed to assimilate and indoctrinate them, according to the government’s published plans. And authorities have carried out the widespread destruction of mosques and shrines while turning others into tourist sites. What are the camps? Officials have held 1 million or more people in internment camps in Xinjiang, the country’s most sweeping mass detention program since the Mao era. A wide range of behavior can lead to detention, including acts of religious devotion, travel to certain countries, violations of birth restrictions or installing cellphone apps that allow encrypted messaging. Authorities at first denied the mass detentions. Then they acknowledged what they called a vocational training program meant to curb terrorism, separatism and religious extremism by giving people job skills and Chinese language training. Those who have been held in camps describe a rigorous prison environment filled with monotonous political indoctrination and, for many, terrorizing bouts of violence and physical abuse by guards. In 2019, Chinese authorities said they had wound down the program and released most of those who were held, an assertion that was met with wide skepticism by researchers and activist groups. While there were signs that some camps had been closed and some of those held released, China has also continued to expand detention facilities in the region, particularly high-security prisons. The region also experienced a record surge in arrests, trials and prison sentences, according to official data released in 2019. In addition, the authorities have pushed work programs in Xinjiang, including the transfer of workers within the region and to other parts of China, that critics say most likely involve coercion and forced labor. Why, in the U.S. view at least, do China’s actions in Xinjiang amount to genocide? In his statement, Pompeo said Chinese authorities in Xinjiang had committed crimes against humanity that include arbitrary imprisonment, forced sterilization, torture, forced labor and “draconian restrictions” on freedom of religion, expression and movement. He added that the United States believes that Chinese authorities have committed genocide because they had “engaged in the forced assimilation and eventual erasure of a vulnerable ethnic and religious minority group.” The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which has been ratified by at least 149 countries including China, defines genocide as any of these acts committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group: Killing its members; causing them serious bodily or mental harm; deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to cause the group’s physical destruction; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. How has the world responded? The global response to the repression in Xinjiang has been relatively muted, an indication of China’s global clout. Over the past year, the United States has imposed sanctions on Chinese officials, companies and government bodies operating in Xinjiang. The genocide declaration is the sharpest response thus far. Last year, a Canadian parliamentary subcommittee reached the same conclusion. The declaration by Pompeo could lead to further penalties by the United States, but those decisions will now be in the hands of the Biden administration. One test will be whether the Biden administration will try to persuade U.S. allies to support efforts to confront Beijing over its oppression in Xinjiang in a way the Trump administration did not. During his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, Antony Blinken, Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, indicated that the United States would try to lobby support from other nations. “When we are working with, not denigrating, our allies, that’s a source of strength for us in dealing with China,” he said.

China's oppression of Muslims in Xinjiang, explained

<p>A shipment of&nbsp;products allegedly made from human hair believed to have been taken from Uighur Muslims in China's Xinjiang province has been seized by&nbsp;US federal authorities.</p>

<p>13 tons&nbsp;of weaves and other hair products worth an estimated $800,000 were in the shipment, according to the&nbsp;officials of the Customs and Border Protection.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-forces-birth-control-on-uighurs-to-suppress-population-309488">China forces birth control on Uighurs to suppress population</a></strong></p>

<p>Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s office of trade said, ''The production of these goods constitutes a very serious human rights violation, and the detention order is intended to send a clear and direct message to all entities seeking to do business with the United States that illicit and inhumane practices will not be tolerated in US supply chains.''</p>

<p>This is the second time that shipments of hair products&nbsp;has been seized by the&nbsp;CBP on the grounds that people making them are facing abuse.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-chinas-genocide-of-uighurs-309517/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>Earlier, an advisory was issued by the US&nbsp;State, Treasury, Commerce and Homeland Security departments seeking&nbsp;for addition of extra&nbsp;pressure from the US&nbsp;on China at a time of heightened tensions over China's treatment of Muslim&nbsp;Uighurs&nbsp;in Xinjiang and Beijing's new national security law for Hong Kong.</p>

<p>Companies doing business in Xinjiang or with entities using Xinjiang labour face "reputational, economic, and legal risks" from human rights abuses, including forced labour, mass detention and forced sterilization, as per the advisory.</p>

<p>US&nbsp;Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on Wednesday, "CEOs should read this notice closely and be aware of the reputational, economic and legal risks of supporting such assaults on human dignity."</p>

<p>The action follows a US&nbsp;Commerce Department move last month that added seven companies and two institutions to an economic blacklist for being "complicit in human rights violations and abuses committed in China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labour and high-technology surveillance against&nbsp;Uighurs" and others.</p>

<p>China's foreign ministry said in May it deplored and firmly opposed US&nbsp;sanctions over Xinjiang, calling it a purely internal affair for China.</p>


A shipment of products allegedly made from human hair believed to have been taken from Uighur Muslims in China's Xinjiang province has been seized by US federal authorities.

A shipment of products allegedly made from human hair believed to have been taken from Uighur Muslims in China's Xinjiang province has been seized by US federal authorities. 13 tons of weaves and other hair products worth an estimated $800,000 were in the shipment, according to the officials of the Customs and Border Protection. Also read: China forces birth control on Uighurs to suppress population Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s office of trade said, ''The production of these goods constitutes a very serious human rights violation, and the detention order is intended to send a clear and direct message to all entities seeking to do business with the United States that illicit and inhumane practices will not be tolerated in US supply chains.'' This is the second time that shipments of hair products has been seized by the CBP on the grounds that people making them are facing abuse. Earlier, an advisory was issued by the US State, Treasury, Commerce and Homeland Security departments seeking for addition of extra pressure from the US on China at a time of heightened tensions over China's treatment of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang and Beijing's new national security law for Hong Kong. Companies doing business in Xinjiang or with entities using Xinjiang labour face "reputational, economic, and legal risks" from human rights abuses, including forced labour, mass detention and forced sterilization, as per the advisory. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on Wednesday, "CEOs should read this notice closely and be aware of the reputational, economic and legal risks of supporting such assaults on human dignity." The action follows a US Commerce Department move last month that added seven companies and two institutions to an economic blacklist for being "complicit in human rights violations and abuses committed in China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labour and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs" and others. China's foreign ministry said in May it deplored and firmly opposed US sanctions over Xinjiang, calling it a purely internal affair for China.

US seizes products allegedly made from hair of Uighurs in Chinese camps

United Nation estimates that more than a million Uighur Muslims has been sent to forced detention camps in China. They are being tortured, brainwashed in these camps. Now more details have emerged that of China's brutal crackdown on the Uighur Muslims. Watch report.

WION Dispatch: How China has been torturing Uighur Muslims in detention camps?