The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-turning-blind-eye-to-human-rights-abuses-in-xinjiang-237376">far northwestern region of Xinjiang</a> is an "inseparable" part of China despite efforts by extremists to distort history and facts in a bid to split the country, the Chinese government said in a document published late on Sunday.

The government said in a white paper published by the State Council Information Office it was wrong to suggest members of Xinjiang's minority Uighur Muslim community were descended from Turks, noting they had become the political tool of pan-Turkic and pan-Islamic groups.

The paper said, "hostile forces in and outside China, especially separatists, religious extremists and terrorists, have tried to split China and break it apart by distorting history and facts".

Beijing has been accused of persecuting Uighurs, with at least a million believed to be detained in what China insists are vocational centres aimed at reducing the spread of Islamist extremism.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mike-pompeo-expresses-disappointment-over-turkeys-acquisition-of-russian-s-400-missiles-237351">US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo</a> branded China's treatment of its Uighur minority as the "stain of the century" on Thursday.

The government white paper said Xinjiang has been a part of China since the Han dynasty in the third century and its people and ethnic cultures were formed by a long process of migration and integration.

It also said Islam was not the indigenous or sole belief system of the Uighurs but was imposed by the expansion of the Arab Empire, and that "theocracy" and "religious supremacism" were a betrayal that needed to be opposed.

"Hostile foreign forces and separatist, religious extremist and terrorist forces that have colluded to distort history ... will be cast aside by history and the people," it said.

The far northwestern region of Xinjiang is an "inseparable" part of China despite efforts by extremists to distort history and facts in a bid to split the country, the Chinese government said in a document published late on Sunday.

The far northwestern region of Xinjiang is an "inseparable" part of China despite efforts by extremists to distort history and facts in a bid to split the country, the Chinese government said in a document published late on Sunday. The government said in a white paper published by the State Council Information Office it was wrong to suggest members of Xinjiang's minority Uighur Muslim community were descended from Turks, noting they had become the political tool of pan-Turkic and pan-Islamic groups. The paper said, "hostile forces in and outside China, especially separatists, religious extremists and terrorists, have tried to split China and break it apart by distorting history and facts". Beijing has been accused of persecuting Uighurs, with at least a million believed to be detained in what China insists are vocational centres aimed at reducing the spread of Islamist extremism. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo branded China's treatment of its Uighur minority as the "stain of the century" on Thursday. The government white paper said Xinjiang has been a part of China since the Han dynasty in the third century and its people and ethnic cultures were formed by a long process of migration and integration. It also said Islam was not the indigenous or sole belief system of the Uighurs but was imposed by the expansion of the Arab Empire, and that "theocracy" and "religious supremacism" were a betrayal that needed to be opposed. "Hostile foreign forces and separatist, religious extremist and terrorist forces that have colluded to distort history ... will be cast aside by history and the people," it said.

China says Xinjiang 'inseparable' despite attempts to distort history

While the United Nations has said that at least one million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained in China, experts believe that neighbouring Pakistan has turned a blind eye to the human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

China's close ally, Pakistan, is a Muslim country and one of the most powerful members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

However, it has covered up the massive human rights abuses against followers of Islam in Xinjiang.

"I see the main reason...as the implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Obviously, raising the question of the Uighurs domestically as well as internationally is perceived as provoking Beijing, which would have potential negative ramifications for the CPEC implementation," said Dr Siegfried O Wolf, the Director of Research at Brussels-based South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF).

"In this context, we should also expect that the Pakistani leadership does not want to raise the question in order to not stir further anti-Chinese sentiments in the country which are already increasing. This would further deteriorate the security situation of Chinese projects, workers, and companies," he added.

Wolf said that another factor is that Islamabad, especially its all-powerful military, wants to appease Beijing by ignoring the mistreatment of the Muslim communities in China.

This helps in shielding the deepening Pakistan-China bilateral ties in security and military-related matters, which find its most visible expression in the delivery of Chinese weapons and military hardware.

Recently, nearly two dozen nations at the UN Human Rights Council wrote a letter, urging China to halt its mass detention.US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, also called China's treatment of Uighurs the "stain of the century".

The State Department estimates that between 8,00,000 to two million Turkic Muslims, including Uighurs, are being held in internment camps that Beijing has called "re-education" centres.

The issue of Uighurs in Xinjiang is expected to be raised during Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's meeting with the US Secretary of State on Tuesday. Khan will be in the US from July 21 to July 23 on an official visit, during which he is also scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump.

Experts believe that Pakistan is hand-in-glove with China to cover up the massive human rights violations in Xinjiang.

Dusan Vejinovic, a Senior Research Analyst at the European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) said, "The same way that China appears to maintain double standards on combating terrorism, manifested through the years-long postponement of the designation of Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, while simultaneously detaining 'preventatively'&nbsp;Muslims on alleged suspicions of Islamist radicalisation and terrorism, Pakistan follows the model of its patron, by playing a double standard in dealing with issues related to Muslims".

"Pakistan will sell its proxy war in Jammu &amp; Kashmir as Jihad for their Muslim brothers, but totally deny any knowledge of the treatment of Uighurs by China," he added.

Wolf also said that Pakistan will attempt to continue its old tactic of playing a double game during Khan's visit to Washington.

"Until now Pakistan was known for supporting the 'US war against terror'&nbsp;but at the same time, it also supported the Taliban and other insurgent groups in Afghanistan which were fighting against the US troops, their allies and the Afghan government.

However, this version of the double game reduces significance among Pakistan security mindset with the reduction of the US troops in the country, the growing strength of the Taliban and the deepening of relations wherein China is substituting US financial aid," Wolf added.

"However, Pakistan's military knows very well that Chinese military hardware is not a match until now for US technology and capabilities in the areas of defence production. Furthermore, the top brass of the Pakistani army is also well aware that Chinese support is strictly limited when it comes to an armed confrontation with its arch-rival India. As such, the military looks for a diversification of its supplies for military equipment," he further said.

Wolf believes that Islamabad's stand on Iran, as well as the trilateral relations shared by Iran-Pakistan-China, could be used as a bargaining chip in talks with the US.

However, it is unlikely that the Uighurs will play any significant, severe role in the latest and upcoming conversations between Imran Khan and the US administration, besides some "lip service".&nbsp;

While the United Nations has said that at least one million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained in China, experts believe that neighbouring Pakistan has turned a blind eye to the human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

While the United Nations has said that at least one million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained in China, experts believe that neighbouring Pakistan has turned a blind eye to the human rights abuses in Xinjiang. China's close ally, Pakistan, is a Muslim country and one of the most powerful members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). However, it has covered up the massive human rights abuses against followers of Islam in Xinjiang. "I see the main reason...as the implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Obviously, raising the question of the Uighurs domestically as well as internationally is perceived as provoking Beijing, which would have potential negative ramifications for the CPEC implementation," said Dr Siegfried O Wolf, the Director of Research at Brussels-based South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF). "In this context, we should also expect that the Pakistani leadership does not want to raise the question in order to not stir further anti-Chinese sentiments in the country which are already increasing. This would further deteriorate the security situation of Chinese projects, workers, and companies," he added. Wolf said that another factor is that Islamabad, especially its all-powerful military, wants to appease Beijing by ignoring the mistreatment of the Muslim communities in China. This helps in shielding the deepening Pakistan-China bilateral ties in security and military-related matters, which find its most visible expression in the delivery of Chinese weapons and military hardware. Recently, nearly two dozen nations at the UN Human Rights Council wrote a letter, urging China to halt its mass detention.US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, also called China's treatment of Uighurs the "stain of the century". The State Department estimates that between 8,00,000 to two million Turkic Muslims, including Uighurs, are being held in internment camps that Beijing has called "re-education" centres. The issue of Uighurs in Xinjiang is expected to be raised during Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's meeting with the US Secretary of State on Tuesday. Khan will be in the US from July 21 to July 23 on an official visit, during which he is also scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump. Experts believe that Pakistan is hand-in-glove with China to cover up the massive human rights violations in Xinjiang. Dusan Vejinovic, a Senior Research Analyst at the European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) said, "The same way that China appears to maintain double standards on combating terrorism, manifested through the years-long postponement of the designation of Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, while simultaneously detaining 'preventatively' Muslims on alleged suspicions of Islamist radicalisation and terrorism, Pakistan follows the model of its patron, by playing a double standard in dealing with issues related to Muslims". "Pakistan will sell its proxy war in Jammu & Kashmir as Jihad for their Muslim brothers, but totally deny any knowledge of the treatment of Uighurs by China," he added. Wolf also said that Pakistan will attempt to continue its old tactic of playing a double game during Khan's visit to Washington. "Until now Pakistan was known for supporting the 'US war against terror' but at the same time, it also supported the Taliban and other insurgent groups in Afghanistan which were fighting against the US troops, their allies and the Afghan government. However, this version of the double game reduces significance among Pakistan security mindset with the reduction of the US troops in the country, the growing strength of the Taliban and the deepening of relations wherein China is substituting US financial aid," Wolf added. "However, Pakistan's military knows very well that Chinese military hardware is not a match until now for US technology and capabilities in the areas of defence production. Furthermore, the top brass of the Pakistani army is also well aware that Chinese support is strictly limited when it comes to an armed confrontation with its arch-rival India. As such, the military looks for a diversification of its supplies for military equipment," he further said. Wolf believes that Islamabad's stand on Iran, as well as the trilateral relations shared by Iran-Pakistan-China, could be used as a bargaining chip in talks with the US. However, it is unlikely that the Uighurs will play any significant, severe role in the latest and upcoming conversations between Imran Khan and the US administration, besides some "lip service".

Pakistan turning blind eye to human rights abuses in Xinjiang

The United States should reject "prejudice" and respect facts instead of vilifying <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/human-rights-watch-report-on-uighurs-full-of-prejudice-says-china-164872">China's record on religious rights</a>, the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily said on Saturday after fresh criticism of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uighur-wives-forced-to-drink-alcohol-and-eat-pork-in-chinas-re-education-camps-214757">China's treatment of ethnic Muslims</a>.&nbsp;

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo branded <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinese-government-has-destroyed-graveyard-of-uighur-community-historian-226704">China's treatment of its Uighur minority</a> in the far northwestern region of Xinjiang the "stain of the century" on Thursday. He also accused Beijing of pressuring countries not to attend a US-hosted conference on religious freedom.

Beijing has been accused of persecuting Uighurs, with at least a million believed to be detained in what China insists are vocational centres aimed at reducing the spread of extremism.&nbsp;

But the People`s Daily said China respected religious rights and accused some in the United States of having "ulterior motives" and using religion as a pretext to vilify China.&nbsp;

"They even use so-called freedom of religious belief as an excuse to undermine China`s national harmony and interfere in China`s internal affairs," the editorial said.&nbsp;

It said the critics "know nothing about the real situation" in Xinjiang, and the vocational training system had already become an effective way of protecting the region`s population from terrorism and extremism.

An open letter signed by dozens of scholars and religious officials from the region has accused Pompeo of making "false accusations" about the treatment of Uighur Muslims.

The letter, published by the Xinjiang government`s official website late on Friday, said there was "no evidence" to show China was trying to destroy Uighur culture or religion, and urged Pompeo to "stop fabricating lies and slanders about Xinjiang".&nbsp;

Earlier this month, nearly two dozen countries called on China to halt its mass detention of Uighurs in Xinjiang, the first such joint move on the issue at the UN&nbsp;Human Rights Council.&nbsp;

The United States should reject "prejudice" and respect facts instead of vilifying China's record on religious rights, the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily said on Saturday after fresh criticism of China's treatment of ethnic Muslims.

The United States should reject "prejudice" and respect facts instead of vilifying China's record on religious rights, the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily said on Saturday after fresh criticism of China's treatment of ethnic Muslims. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo branded China's treatment of its Uighur minority in the far northwestern region of Xinjiang the "stain of the century" on Thursday. He also accused Beijing of pressuring countries not to attend a US-hosted conference on religious freedom. Beijing has been accused of persecuting Uighurs, with at least a million believed to be detained in what China insists are vocational centres aimed at reducing the spread of extremism. But the People`s Daily said China respected religious rights and accused some in the United States of having "ulterior motives" and using religion as a pretext to vilify China. "They even use so-called freedom of religious belief as an excuse to undermine China`s national harmony and interfere in China`s internal affairs," the editorial said. It said the critics "know nothing about the real situation" in Xinjiang, and the vocational training system had already become an effective way of protecting the region`s population from terrorism and extremism. An open letter signed by dozens of scholars and religious officials from the region has accused Pompeo of making "false accusations" about the treatment of Uighur Muslims. The letter, published by the Xinjiang government`s official website late on Friday, said there was "no evidence" to show China was trying to destroy Uighur culture or religion, and urged Pompeo to "stop fabricating lies and slanders about Xinjiang". Earlier this month, nearly two dozen countries called on China to halt its mass detention of Uighurs in Xinjiang, the first such joint move on the issue at the UN Human Rights Council.

US should reject 'prejudice' on China religious rights: State media

By Abbas Faiz

A letter signed in early July by 22 Western countries, including the UK, Australia, Canada and France, raised serious concerns to UN officials about China’s incarceration of Uyghur people in so-called education camps in the country’s Xinjiang region. A few days later, a second letter emerged. Signed by 37 governments, including North Korea, Russia and Saudi Arabia, it effectively endorsed China’s human rights abuses in the region.

All of the signatories of the second letter have appalling human rights records of their own. Like the Chinese government, they suppress their political opponents and impose severe restrictions on critical media. Many subject their critics to arbitrary arrest, torture, long prison sentences or the death penalty after grossly unfair trials.

The letter highlights China’s latest win in its plan to reshape the international human rights system. For more than a decade, as documented in a 2012 Chatham House study, Chinese officials have worked hard to derail human rights resolutions at the UN whether or not they had a bearing on the country’s own record.

Alarm about the role China is playing to weaken the UN human rights system was also raised by Human Rights Watch in 2017. It accused China of intimidation on UN premises, obstruction of NGO advocacy at the UN, resistance to routine practices regarding appointments and media broadcast, and efforts to weaken key human rights resolutions.

If China succeeds in gaining the support of a majority of UN member states, it can push to water down some of the binding international legal safeguards for human rights, such as civil and political rights.

Insisting on sovereignty

China’s approach has been to engage with the UN’s human rights bodies to impose its own narrative, which misinterprets sovereignty as being distinct and above human rights. The Chinese government persistently reacts to any criticism of China by labelling it interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. In doing so, it ignores repeated emphasis in international human rights law that human rights depend on one another. The exercise of one right, such as the right to sovereignty, cannot allow the violation of another, such as the right not to be tortured.

Chinese delegates at the UN Human Rights Council said they “highly appreciated” the letter of support by the 37 signatories. China’s ambassador to the council, Chen Xu, said: “We have repeatedly expressed that what is going on in Xinjiang is entirely an internal affair of China and it involves China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

A dangerous block

China is recruiting like-minded governments to push its line on sovereignty. The 37 signatories of the letter, as well as other countries not on the list, including Iran and Turkey, are taking the same approach towards legitimate criticism of their human rights records. Not only are they brothers in arms against safeguarding human rights, but for many their partnership with China’s Belt and Road Initiative or their dependency on China’s low interest loans is a growing incentive to join China’s block. The stronger this menacing form of solidarity grows, the less effective human rights safeguards will be in these countries.

Chinese officials have repeatedly termed the criticism of their treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang region as Western media politicising the issue. But the block of support that China is building is itself a highly political enterprise. The countries include Muslim states, such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, who turn a blind eye to the treatment of Muslims in China but have been vocal against the treatment of Muslims in other parts of the world in a display of double standards.

What unites many of the 37 countries who support China is their style of governance. They all appear hostile to campaigns for democracy in their countries, ruthlessly suppress freedoms, and with a few exceptions rank high in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.

China may not be currently pushing for actual amendments to international human rights law, but it is advocating a change in how the law is interpreted. It may also want to have control in future on the appointment of independent experts, for which it would need support from other countries. A block of 37 countries may not yet be a decisive development, but it is the start of what could be a nightmare for human rights defenders.

China’s economic might and worldwide influence enable it to deflect international criticism of its poor human rights record. With a growing army of like-minded governments behind it, international human rights safeguards have never been so dangerously exposed.

(Abbas Faiz is Lecturer on Human Rights, School of Law, University of Essex)

(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/china-is-building-a-global-coalition-of-human-rights-violators-to-defend-its-record-in-xinjiang-what-is-its-endgame-120546">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

By Abbas Faiz A letter signed in early July by 22 Western countries, including the UK, Australia, Canada and France, raised serious concerns to UN officials about China’s incarceration of Uyghur people in so-called education camps in the country’s Xinjiang region.

By Abbas Faiz A letter signed in early July by 22 Western countries, including the UK, Australia, Canada and France, raised serious concerns to UN officials about China’s incarceration of Uyghur people in so-called education camps in the country’s Xinjiang region. A few days later, a second letter emerged. Signed by 37 governments, including North Korea, Russia and Saudi Arabia, it effectively endorsed China’s human rights abuses in the region. All of the signatories of the second letter have appalling human rights records of their own. Like the Chinese government, they suppress their political opponents and impose severe restrictions on critical media. Many subject their critics to arbitrary arrest, torture, long prison sentences or the death penalty after grossly unfair trials. The letter highlights China’s latest win in its plan to reshape the international human rights system. For more than a decade, as documented in a 2012 Chatham House study, Chinese officials have worked hard to derail human rights resolutions at the UN whether or not they had a bearing on the country’s own record. Alarm about the role China is playing to weaken the UN human rights system was also raised by Human Rights Watch in 2017. It accused China of intimidation on UN premises, obstruction of NGO advocacy at the UN, resistance to routine practices regarding appointments and media broadcast, and efforts to weaken key human rights resolutions. If China succeeds in gaining the support of a majority of UN member states, it can push to water down some of the binding international legal safeguards for human rights, such as civil and political rights. Insisting on sovereignty China’s approach has been to engage with the UN’s human rights bodies to impose its own narrative, which misinterprets sovereignty as being distinct and above human rights. The Chinese government persistently reacts to any criticism of China by labelling it interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. In doing so, it ignores repeated emphasis in international human rights law that human rights depend on one another. The exercise of one right, such as the right to sovereignty, cannot allow the violation of another, such as the right not to be tortured. Chinese delegates at the UN Human Rights Council said they “highly appreciated” the letter of support by the 37 signatories. China’s ambassador to the council, Chen Xu, said: “We have repeatedly expressed that what is going on in Xinjiang is entirely an internal affair of China and it involves China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” A dangerous block China is recruiting like-minded governments to push its line on sovereignty. The 37 signatories of the letter, as well as other countries not on the list, including Iran and Turkey, are taking the same approach towards legitimate criticism of their human rights records. Not only are they brothers in arms against safeguarding human rights, but for many their partnership with China’s Belt and Road Initiative or their dependency on China’s low interest loans is a growing incentive to join China’s block. The stronger this menacing form of solidarity grows, the less effective human rights safeguards will be in these countries. Chinese officials have repeatedly termed the criticism of their treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang region as Western media politicising the issue. But the block of support that China is building is itself a highly political enterprise. The countries include Muslim states, such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, who turn a blind eye to the treatment of Muslims in China but have been vocal against the treatment of Muslims in other parts of the world in a display of double standards. What unites many of the 37 countries who support China is their style of governance. They all appear hostile to campaigns for democracy in their countries, ruthlessly suppress freedoms, and with a few exceptions rank high in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. China may not be currently pushing for actual amendments to international human rights law, but it is advocating a change in how the law is interpreted. It may also want to have control in future on the appointment of independent experts, for which it would need support from other countries. A block of 37 countries may not yet be a decisive development, but it is the start of what could be a nightmare for human rights defenders. China’s economic might and worldwide influence enable it to deflect international criticism of its poor human rights record. With a growing army of like-minded governments behind it, international human rights safeguards have never been so dangerously exposed. (Abbas Faiz is Lecturer on Human Rights, School of Law, University of Essex) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

China is building a global coalition of human rights violators to defend its record in Xinjiang

China demanded the US on Thursday to stop interfering in its internal affairs, after President Donald Trump met Chinese Uighur and other religious <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/they-gave-you-nobel-peace-prize-for-what-trump-asks-yazidi-activist-nadia-murad-236832">persecution victims at the White House</a>.

Trump, who has made religious freedom a centerpiece of his foreign policy, met with victims of religious persecution from countries including China, Turkey, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar.

Trump counts evangelical Christians among his core supporters and the State Department is hosting a conference on the topic this week that will be attended by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"I must point out that in China this situation of so-called religious persecution does not exist," China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Suang said.&nbsp;

"Chinese people have freedom of religion. The United States have arranged for people from the evil cult of Falun Gong and people who smear China's religious policy to take part in the so-called religious meeting, and arranged them to meet with the US leader," the foreign ministry spokesman added.&nbsp;

Four of the 27 participants in the Oval Office meeting were from China, the White House said: Jewher Ilham, an Uighur Muslim; Yuhua Zhang, a Falun Gong practitioner; Nyima Lhamo, a Tibetan Buddhist; and Manping Ouyang, a Christian.

Ilham told Trump her father was one of many Uighurs "locked up in concentration camps" in the Xinjiang region and that she had not spoken with him since 2017.

"This is an interference in China's internal affairs. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this. We demand that the United States correctly views China's religious policies and the status of religious freedom in China, and stop using the issue of religion to interfere in other countries' affairs," Geng said.&nbsp;

The Trump administration has been weighing sanctions against Chinese officials over the treatment of the Uighurs, including the Communist Party chief of Xinjiang, Chen Quanguo, but has so far held back amid Chinese threats of retaliation.

Relations between the United States and China are already tense over a tit-for-tat trade war, with the United States alleging that China engages in unfair trading practices.

China demanded the US on Thursday to stop interfering in its internal affairs, after President Donald Trump met Chinese Uighur and other religious persecution victims at the White House.

China demanded the US on Thursday to stop interfering in its internal affairs, after President Donald Trump met Chinese Uighur and other religious persecution victims at the White House. Trump, who has made religious freedom a centerpiece of his foreign policy, met with victims of religious persecution from countries including China, Turkey, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar. Trump counts evangelical Christians among his core supporters and the State Department is hosting a conference on the topic this week that will be attended by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "I must point out that in China this situation of so-called religious persecution does not exist," China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Suang said. "Chinese people have freedom of religion. The United States have arranged for people from the evil cult of Falun Gong and people who smear China's religious policy to take part in the so-called religious meeting, and arranged them to meet with the US leader," the foreign ministry spokesman added. Four of the 27 participants in the Oval Office meeting were from China, the White House said: Jewher Ilham, an Uighur Muslim; Yuhua Zhang, a Falun Gong practitioner; Nyima Lhamo, a Tibetan Buddhist; and Manping Ouyang, a Christian. Ilham told Trump her father was one of many Uighurs "locked up in concentration camps" in the Xinjiang region and that she had not spoken with him since 2017. "This is an interference in China's internal affairs. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this. We demand that the United States correctly views China's religious policies and the status of religious freedom in China, and stop using the issue of religion to interfere in other countries' affairs," Geng said. The Trump administration has been weighing sanctions against Chinese officials over the treatment of the Uighurs, including the Communist Party chief of Xinjiang, Chen Quanguo, but has so far held back amid Chinese threats of retaliation. Relations between the United States and China are already tense over a tit-for-tat trade war, with the United States alleging that China engages in unfair trading practices.

Chinese people have freedom of religion, US should stop using issue of religion to interfere: China

Why Countries Turn A Blind Eye To China's Mass Detention Of Uighurs? China seems to be getting away with rights abuse for fun. 37 countries have defended China's track-record in Xinjiang. Some of them are Muslim countries. But the detention of Uighur muslims in 'internment camps' doesn't seem to bother them. Is China's economic might helping it to escape criticism? Does investment matter more than rights or religion? Palki explains.

Gravitas: Uighur camps: 37 countries defend China's human rights abuse

From the expansive dunes of the Taklamakan Desert to the snow-capped peaks of Tianshan, Chinese authorities are selling <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/for-turkey-xinjiang-visit-amounts-to-a-risky-gamble-234168">troubled Xinjiang</a> as a tourist idyll, welcoming travellers even as they send locals to internment camps.

The government has rounded up an estimated one <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/37-countries-including-pakistan-and-saudi-arabia-defend-china-in-un-letter-over-xinjiang-235466">million Uighurs</a> and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking minorities into re-education camps in the tightly-controlled region in China's northwest, but it has also created a parallel universe for visitors, who are only shown a carefully curated version of traditional customs and culture.

In the Old Town of Kashgar, an ancient Silk Road city, smiling food vendors serve mouthwatering lamb skewers, while children play in the streets.

"It didn't look to me like -- unless you were picked up and put in a camp -- that these Uighur communities seemed to be living in some kind of fear," said William Lee, who has taught at universities in China for 10 years and visited the region in June.

"That's just my impression," he added.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-says-reached-broad-consensus-with-un-after-xinjiang-visit-227501">Xinjiang, a fraught region</a> where flare-ups of interethnic violence have led to unprecedented levels of surveillance, is one of the fastest-growing areas for tourism in China.

Armed police and frequent checkpoints have not dampened the flow of vacationers visiting the region, which in 2018 saw a 40 per cent increase year-on-year of visits -- mainly from domestic tourists -- outstripping the national average by 25 per cent, according to official figures.

The business has grown steadily over the years mainly because "Xinjiang is very stable", explained Wu Yali, who runs a travel agency in the region.&nbsp;

Though tourists are not used to the high level of security at first, "they adapt after a few days," she told AFP.

But travellers are barred from witnessing the most controversial part of Xinjiang's security apparatus: the network of internment camps spread across the vast region.

Many of these facilities are outside main tourist hubs and are fenced off with razor-wired walls.

On a six-day trip to the region last month, AFP reporters encountered roadblocks and were turned away by security forces upon nearing some camps.

'Regime of terror'

China describes the facilities as "vocational education centres" where Turkic-speaking "trainees" learn Mandarin and job skills.

"The violence that is being inflicted on the bodies of Uighur and other Muslim people...has been rendered invisible," said Rachel Harris, who studies Uighur culture and music at the School of Oriental and African Studies University of London.

"For a tourist who goes and travels around a designated route, it all looks nice," she told AFP. "It's all very quiet and that's because there's a regime of terror being imposed on the local people."

According to Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily, the regional government offered travellers subsidies worth 500 yuan ($73) each in 2014, after tourism plunged following a deadly knife attack blamed on Xinjiang separatists in southwestern China.

By 2020, Xinjiang is aiming to hit a total of 300 million visits by tourists and rake in 600 billion yuan ($87 billion), according to the region's tourism bureau.

Tourism packages to Xinjiang often feature the region's rich array of natural beauty, from the azure waters of Karakul lake to Tianshan -- a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Many also offer "ethnic" experiences, often in the form of dance performances. Some tour operators even include visits to Uighur homes.

Even as Chinese authorities seek to contain the region's Muslim minorities, they are monetising ethnic culture -- albeit a simplified version of it, experts say.

"Uighur culture is being boiled down to just song and dance," said Josh Summers, an American who lived in Xinjiang for more than a decade and wrote travel guides for the region.

"What makes me sad is what ends up happening is there are only very specific parts of Uighur culture that get maintained because of the tourism," he said, citing the neglect of Uighur paper-making traditions and desert shrines.

'Discover Xinjiang'

Beijing's security clampdown has also squeezed Yengisar city's artisanal knife trade, said Summers.

"Ever since the management of Xinjiang became stricter, the impact on Yengisar's small knives has been very large -- now there are very few shops selling small knives," agreed Li Qingwen, who runs a tourism business in Xinjiang.

The government wants Uighurs to "show how they excel in singing and dancing, instead of living under religious rules and restrictions," he told AFP.

But while ethnic song and dance is showcased to tourists, Uighurs are often restricted in how they express their own culture.

Large, spontaneous gatherings of Uighurs -- even if they involve dancing -- are less frequent because of tightened security, said Summers.&nbsp;

Night markets too are more controlled. In Hotan, what used to be an outdoor night market is now inside a white tent, where red lanterns hang from the ceiling and uniform food stalls adorned with Chinese flags sell lamb skewers, but also sushi and seafood. &nbsp;

Over the past few years, cultural leaders in the Uighur community have disappeared, raising fears they have been detained.

In February, Turkey's foreign ministry claimed that prominent Uighur musician and poet Abdurehim Heyit had died in a Chinese prison -- prompting China to release a "proof-of-life" video of an inmate who identified himself as Heyit.

Famous Uighur comedian Adil Mijit is also missing, according to social media posts by his son-in-law Arslan Hidayat.

And though tourists are buffered from the ugliest parts of Xinjiang's security crackdown, it is not difficult to bump against the region's many red lines.

A traveller from Southeast Asia, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisals, described the barriers he faced when trying to pray at a mosque.

Many places of worship were closed in Kashgar, he said, unlike mosques in other Chinese cities.

At Idkah Mosque, Kashgar's central mosque, the tourist was told he couldn't pray inside -- and that he had to buy a ticket to enter.

"They want to separate travellers from locals," he said, adding that his visit to Xinjiang confirmed what he had read about re-education camps.

He added: "There's a lot more of Xinjiang that I want to discover. But I really hope that Xinjiang will become the old Xinjiang."

From the expansive dunes of the Taklamakan Desert to the snow-capped peaks of Tianshan, Chinese authorities are selling troubled Xinjiang as a tourist idyll, welcoming travellers even as they send locals to internment camps.

From the expansive dunes of the Taklamakan Desert to the snow-capped peaks of Tianshan, Chinese authorities are selling troubled Xinjiang as a tourist idyll, welcoming travellers even as they send locals to internment camps. The government has rounded up an estimated one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking minorities into re-education camps in the tightly-controlled region in China's northwest, but it has also created a parallel universe for visitors, who are only shown a carefully curated version of traditional customs and culture. In the Old Town of Kashgar, an ancient Silk Road city, smiling food vendors serve mouthwatering lamb skewers, while children play in the streets. "It didn't look to me like -- unless you were picked up and put in a camp -- that these Uighur communities seemed to be living in some kind of fear," said William Lee, who has taught at universities in China for 10 years and visited the region in June. "That's just my impression," he added. Xinjiang, a fraught region where flare-ups of interethnic violence have led to unprecedented levels of surveillance, is one of the fastest-growing areas for tourism in China. Armed police and frequent checkpoints have not dampened the flow of vacationers visiting the region, which in 2018 saw a 40 per cent increase year-on-year of visits -- mainly from domestic tourists -- outstripping the national average by 25 per cent, according to official figures. The business has grown steadily over the years mainly because "Xinjiang is very stable", explained Wu Yali, who runs a travel agency in the region. Though tourists are not used to the high level of security at first, "they adapt after a few days," she told AFP. But travellers are barred from witnessing the most controversial part of Xinjiang's security apparatus: the network of internment camps spread across the vast region. Many of these facilities are outside main tourist hubs and are fenced off with razor-wired walls. On a six-day trip to the region last month, AFP reporters encountered roadblocks and were turned away by security forces upon nearing some camps. 'Regime of terror' China describes the facilities as "vocational education centres" where Turkic-speaking "trainees" learn Mandarin and job skills. "The violence that is being inflicted on the bodies of Uighur and other Muslim people...has been rendered invisible," said Rachel Harris, who studies Uighur culture and music at the School of Oriental and African Studies University of London. "For a tourist who goes and travels around a designated route, it all looks nice," she told AFP. "It's all very quiet and that's because there's a regime of terror being imposed on the local people." According to Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily, the regional government offered travellers subsidies worth 500 yuan ($73) each in 2014, after tourism plunged following a deadly knife attack blamed on Xinjiang separatists in southwestern China. By 2020, Xinjiang is aiming to hit a total of 300 million visits by tourists and rake in 600 billion yuan ($87 billion), according to the region's tourism bureau. Tourism packages to Xinjiang often feature the region's rich array of natural beauty, from the azure waters of Karakul lake to Tianshan -- a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many also offer "ethnic" experiences, often in the form of dance performances. Some tour operators even include visits to Uighur homes. Even as Chinese authorities seek to contain the region's Muslim minorities, they are monetising ethnic culture -- albeit a simplified version of it, experts say. "Uighur culture is being boiled down to just song and dance," said Josh Summers, an American who lived in Xinjiang for more than a decade and wrote travel guides for the region. "What makes me sad is what ends up happening is there are only very specific parts of Uighur culture that get maintained because of the tourism," he said, citing the neglect of Uighur paper-making traditions and desert shrines. 'Discover Xinjiang' Beijing's security clampdown has also squeezed Yengisar city's artisanal knife trade, said Summers. "Ever since the management of Xinjiang became stricter, the impact on Yengisar's small knives has been very large -- now there are very few shops selling small knives," agreed Li Qingwen, who runs a tourism business in Xinjiang. The government wants Uighurs to "show how they excel in singing and dancing, instead of living under religious rules and restrictions," he told AFP. But while ethnic song and dance is showcased to tourists, Uighurs are often restricted in how they express their own culture. Large, spontaneous gatherings of Uighurs -- even if they involve dancing -- are less frequent because of tightened security, said Summers. Night markets too are more controlled. In Hotan, what used to be an outdoor night market is now inside a white tent, where red lanterns hang from the ceiling and uniform food stalls adorned with Chinese flags sell lamb skewers, but also sushi and seafood. Over the past few years, cultural leaders in the Uighur community have disappeared, raising fears they have been detained. In February, Turkey's foreign ministry claimed that prominent Uighur musician and poet Abdurehim Heyit had died in a Chinese prison -- prompting China to release a "proof-of-life" video of an inmate who identified himself as Heyit. Famous Uighur comedian Adil Mijit is also missing, according to social media posts by his son-in-law Arslan Hidayat. And though tourists are buffered from the ugliest parts of Xinjiang's security crackdown, it is not difficult to bump against the region's many red lines. A traveller from Southeast Asia, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisals, described the barriers he faced when trying to pray at a mosque. Many places of worship were closed in Kashgar, he said, unlike mosques in other Chinese cities. At Idkah Mosque, Kashgar's central mosque, the tourist was told he couldn't pray inside -- and that he had to buy a ticket to enter. "They want to separate travellers from locals," he said, adding that his visit to Xinjiang confirmed what he had read about re-education camps. He added: "There's a lot more of Xinjiang that I want to discover. But I really hope that Xinjiang will become the old Xinjiang."

As China locks up Muslims in Xinjiang, it opens its doors to tourists

Ambassadors from 37 countries jointly sent a letter on Friday to the United Nations Human Rights Council, showing their support for China's achievements in protecting human rights in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The diplomats speak highly of China's efforts in combating extremism in Xinjiang, saying there has not been a single terrorist attack in the region over the past three years. They say in the letter that people there are enjoying a stronger sense of "happiness and fulfillment."

37 Nations support China on human rights achievements in joint letter to UN

An official Turkish visit to the troubled north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang to assess reports of a brutal crackdown on the region’s Turkic Muslims could shape Turkey’s challenge to conservative Gulf states’ leadership of the Islamic world and complicate Muslim silence about the most frontal assault on their faith in recent history.

The visit to assess the situation in Xinjiang was agreed in talks with Chinese leaders when Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the issue during a recent visit to Beijing.

Erdogan appeared to set the tone for the visit by declaring that it was possible to "Find a solution to this issue that takes into consideration the sensitivities on both sides."

Walking a fine line, Erdogan went on to say that "those who exploit the issue…by acting emotionally without thinking of the relationship that Turkey has with another country, unfortunately, end up costing both the Turkish republic and their kinsman."

For its part, China seemingly sought to frame the Turkish visit with state-run China Daily newspaper quoting Erdogan as telling Chinese leaders that "It is a fact that the people of all ethnicities in Xinjiang are leading a happy life amid China's development and prosperity."

Turkey has in the past sought unsuccessfully to mediate tensions in Xinjiang in part by agreeing with Beijing on an investment program in the Chinese region.

For Turkey, the visit amounts to a risky gamble.

A Turkish confirmation of the extent of the crackdown would position Erdogan as a leader willing to defend Muslim causes that other leaders have chosen to ignore much like he attempted last year to take the lead on denouncing US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Turkey earlier this year briefly appeared to be willing to take on the Xinjiang issue when its foreign ministry harshly condemned Chinese policy but has largely remained silent since.

In response to the criticism, China temporarily closed its consulate in the Mediterranean port city of Izmir, warned Chinese residents and travellers to Turkey to “Be wary and pay attention to their personal safety,” and threatened further economic retaliation.

If Turkey, on the basis of the visit, were to endorse China’s assertion that it is countering extremism by offering voluntary vocational training to Turkic Muslims, it would be granting a significant victory to China given Turkey’s ethnic and cultural ties to the Xinjiang Muslim community.

It would project Erdogan as just one more Muslim leader who for economic and commercial reasons was willing to cold-shoulder co-religionists in a time of need.

An endorsement would group Erdogan with men like Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman who earlier this year during a visit to Beijing recognized China’s right to undertake "anti-terrorism" and "de-extremism" measures and Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan and Indonesian president Joko Widodo who professed to be unaware of the situation in Xinjiang.

Trying to balance Turkey’s position as a safe haven for Turkic Muslims while maintaining close ties to China, Turkey last month said it had granted 146,000 residence permits to members of various Turkic communities, including an estimated 35,000 Uyghurs.

“You don’t need to worry. I want you to know that we will use every chance in favour of you to provide that you will reach tomorrow as citizens of the Republic of Turkey, brotherly and sisterly,” interior minister Suleyman Soylu told a breaking of the Ramadan fast dinner.

China’s past attempts to convince foreign diplomats even if they remained publicly silent and journalists of its version of events by taking them on guided tours of Xinjiang have largely produced moderate results at best.

How Turkey handles the visit to Xinjiang is likely to resonate in major parts of the Islamic world.

The delegation’s conclusion is likely to come as pressure plays out on the Sudanese military by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to revisit several Turkish contracts concluded with ousted president Omar al-Bashir, including the development of Khartoum airport and a port on Suakin Island.

The port project would put Turkey too close for comfort to the Saudi Red Sea coast and challenge the UAE’s effort to dominate East African ports.

Turkish criticism of China could also complicate efforts by Central Asian governments to ignore Xinjiang even if ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks and other Central Asians are among the detainees in the Chinese region, sparking anti-Chinese sentiment in former Soviet republics.

Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, meeting Chinese president Xi Jinping a day before leaders of the eight Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries gathered in Bishkek last month, described the situation in Xinjiang as an “internal (Chinese) matter.”

The SCO groups Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Pakistan.

A critical Turkish stance could further aggravate problems, at least in Kyrgyzstan, stemming from China’s promotion of a non-competitive Xinjiang-based company competing for a major infrastructure project.

China’s insistence that TBEA, a little-known contractor with at best modest experience in building and repairing power stations, be granted a $386 million contract to refurbish Bishkek’s ageing plant has landed former Kyrgyz prime minister Sapar Isakov in court on corruption charges.

TBEA was awarded the contract despite lower bids by a competing Chinese company and a Russian company with an established track record.

It was not clear to what degree the push for TBEA was driven by an effort to line the pockets of corrupt officials and/or geopolitical objectives. China sees Central Asia and Pakistan as key drivers of economic development in Xinjiang.

Said Yang Shu, head of the Institute for Central Asia Studies at Lanzhou University in north-western China, commenting on Chinese strategy: “For countries that have good relations with China and have similar problems, it is easy for both to reach consensus on the Xinjiang issue. For other countries, explanations will not have much effect… But overall, it’s better to do it than not to do it.”

After vacillating between silence and criticism, the Turkish visit is likely to determine where Turkey really stands. 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)&nbsp;

An official Turkish visit to the troubled north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang to assess reports of a brutal crackdown on the region’s Turkic Muslims could shape Turkey’s challenge to conservative Gulf states’ leadership of the Islamic world and complicate Muslim silence about the most frontal assault on their faith in recent history.

An official Turkish visit to the troubled north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang to assess reports of a brutal crackdown on the region’s Turkic Muslims could shape Turkey’s challenge to conservative Gulf states’ leadership of the Islamic world and complicate Muslim silence about the most frontal assault on their faith in recent history. The visit to assess the situation in Xinjiang was agreed in talks with Chinese leaders when Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the issue during a recent visit to Beijing. Erdogan appeared to set the tone for the visit by declaring that it was possible to "Find a solution to this issue that takes into consideration the sensitivities on both sides." Walking a fine line, Erdogan went on to say that "those who exploit the issue…by acting emotionally without thinking of the relationship that Turkey has with another country, unfortunately, end up costing both the Turkish republic and their kinsman." For its part, China seemingly sought to frame the Turkish visit with state-run China Daily newspaper quoting Erdogan as telling Chinese leaders that "It is a fact that the people of all ethnicities in Xinjiang are leading a happy life amid China's development and prosperity." Turkey has in the past sought unsuccessfully to mediate tensions in Xinjiang in part by agreeing with Beijing on an investment program in the Chinese region. For Turkey, the visit amounts to a risky gamble. A Turkish confirmation of the extent of the crackdown would position Erdogan as a leader willing to defend Muslim causes that other leaders have chosen to ignore much like he attempted last year to take the lead on denouncing US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Turkey earlier this year briefly appeared to be willing to take on the Xinjiang issue when its foreign ministry harshly condemned Chinese policy but has largely remained silent since. In response to the criticism, China temporarily closed its consulate in the Mediterranean port city of Izmir, warned Chinese residents and travellers to Turkey to “Be wary and pay attention to their personal safety,” and threatened further economic retaliation. If Turkey, on the basis of the visit, were to endorse China’s assertion that it is countering extremism by offering voluntary vocational training to Turkic Muslims, it would be granting a significant victory to China given Turkey’s ethnic and cultural ties to the Xinjiang Muslim community. It would project Erdogan as just one more Muslim leader who for economic and commercial reasons was willing to cold-shoulder co-religionists in a time of need. An endorsement would group Erdogan with men like Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman who earlier this year during a visit to Beijing recognized China’s right to undertake "anti-terrorism" and "de-extremism" measures and Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan and Indonesian president Joko Widodo who professed to be unaware of the situation in Xinjiang. Trying to balance Turkey’s position as a safe haven for Turkic Muslims while maintaining close ties to China, Turkey last month said it had granted 146,000 residence permits to members of various Turkic communities, including an estimated 35,000 Uyghurs. “You don’t need to worry. I want you to know that we will use every chance in favour of you to provide that you will reach tomorrow as citizens of the Republic of Turkey, brotherly and sisterly,” interior minister Suleyman Soylu told a breaking of the Ramadan fast dinner. China’s past attempts to convince foreign diplomats even if they remained publicly silent and journalists of its version of events by taking them on guided tours of Xinjiang have largely produced moderate results at best. How Turkey handles the visit to Xinjiang is likely to resonate in major parts of the Islamic world. The delegation’s conclusion is likely to come as pressure plays out on the Sudanese military by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to revisit several Turkish contracts concluded with ousted president Omar al-Bashir, including the development of Khartoum airport and a port on Suakin Island. The port project would put Turkey too close for comfort to the Saudi Red Sea coast and challenge the UAE’s effort to dominate East African ports. Turkish criticism of China could also complicate efforts by Central Asian governments to ignore Xinjiang even if ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks and other Central Asians are among the detainees in the Chinese region, sparking anti-Chinese sentiment in former Soviet republics. Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, meeting Chinese president Xi Jinping a day before leaders of the eight Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries gathered in Bishkek last month, described the situation in Xinjiang as an “internal (Chinese) matter.” The SCO groups Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Pakistan. A critical Turkish stance could further aggravate problems, at least in Kyrgyzstan, stemming from China’s promotion of a non-competitive Xinjiang-based company competing for a major infrastructure project. China’s insistence that TBEA, a little-known contractor with at best modest experience in building and repairing power stations, be granted a $386 million contract to refurbish Bishkek’s ageing plant has landed former Kyrgyz prime minister Sapar Isakov in court on corruption charges. TBEA was awarded the contract despite lower bids by a competing Chinese company and a Russian company with an established track record. It was not clear to what degree the push for TBEA was driven by an effort to line the pockets of corrupt officials and/or geopolitical objectives. China sees Central Asia and Pakistan as key drivers of economic development in Xinjiang. Said Yang Shu, head of the Institute for Central Asia Studies at Lanzhou University in north-western China, commenting on Chinese strategy: “For countries that have good relations with China and have similar problems, it is easy for both to reach consensus on the Xinjiang issue. For other countries, explanations will not have much effect… But overall, it’s better to do it than not to do it.” After vacillating between silence and criticism, the Turkish visit is likely to determine where Turkey really stands. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

For Turkey, Xinjiang visit amounts to a risky gamble

Report Shows That China's 'Spy App' Retrieves Personal Information Of Tourists Visiting Xinjiang Region An investigation by The Guardian, Suddeutsche Zeitung & the New York Times shows that China's border police are secretly installing apps on the phones of visitors going to Xinjiang region. The surveillance app helps China to download personal information of tourists. Here's a report

Gravitas: China spies tourists in Xinjiang

China and the United Nations have reached a "broad consensus" about counter-terror work, China`s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday after a controversial visit by a senior UN official to the restive far western Chinese region of Xinjiang this week.

The United States and other western countries objected to a visit by the UN counterterrorism chief to Xinjiang, where UN experts say someone million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims are held in detention centres.

Diplomats said that along with the United States several other countries, including Britain, complained about the trip of Vladimir Voronkov, a veteran Russian diplomat who heads the UN Counterterrorism Office.

US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan spoke with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday "to convey deep concerns" about Voronkov`s trip because "Beijing continues to paint its repressive campaign against Uighurs and other Muslims as legitimate counterterrorism efforts when it is not".

In a brief statement, China`s Foreign Ministry said that Voronkov had visited Beijing and Xinjiang from June 13-15, meeting senior diplomats including Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng.

The two sides "had a deep exchange of views on the international counter-terrorism situation and counter-terrorism cooperation between China and the United Nations, and reached a broad consensus", the ministry said, without giving details.

China and the world need to stand together to fight terror, and China supports the work of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office, the statement added.

China has been condemned internationally for setting up the detention complexes, which it describes as "education training centres" helping to stamp out extremism and give people new skills.&nbsp;

Voronkov visited Xinjiang before UN&nbsp;human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, who has repeatedly pushed China to grant the United Nations access to investigate reports of disappearances and arbitrary detentions, particularly of Muslims in Xinjiang.

Guterres raised the plight of Muslims in China`s Xinjiang region with the Chinese government`s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, during a visit to Beijing in April.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has been in the Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan over the past few days, where he has spoken of the importance of fighting extremism and terror.

China and the United Nations have reached a "broad consensus" about counter-terror work, China`s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday after a controversial visit by a senior UN official to the restive far western Chinese region of Xinjiang this week.

China and the United Nations have reached a "broad consensus" about counter-terror work, China`s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday after a controversial visit by a senior UN official to the restive far western Chinese region of Xinjiang this week. The United States and other western countries objected to a visit by the UN counterterrorism chief to Xinjiang, where UN experts say someone million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims are held in detention centres. Diplomats said that along with the United States several other countries, including Britain, complained about the trip of Vladimir Voronkov, a veteran Russian diplomat who heads the UN Counterterrorism Office. US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan spoke with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday "to convey deep concerns" about Voronkov`s trip because "Beijing continues to paint its repressive campaign against Uighurs and other Muslims as legitimate counterterrorism efforts when it is not". In a brief statement, China`s Foreign Ministry said that Voronkov had visited Beijing and Xinjiang from June 13-15, meeting senior diplomats including Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng. The two sides "had a deep exchange of views on the international counter-terrorism situation and counter-terrorism cooperation between China and the United Nations, and reached a broad consensus", the ministry said, without giving details. China and the world need to stand together to fight terror, and China supports the work of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office, the statement added. China has been condemned internationally for setting up the detention complexes, which it describes as "education training centres" helping to stamp out extremism and give people new skills. Voronkov visited Xinjiang before UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, who has repeatedly pushed China to grant the United Nations access to investigate reports of disappearances and arbitrary detentions, particularly of Muslims in Xinjiang. Guterres raised the plight of Muslims in China`s Xinjiang region with the Chinese government`s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, during a visit to Beijing in April. Chinese President Xi Jinping has been in the Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan over the past few days, where he has spoken of the importance of fighting extremism and terror.

China says reached 'broad consensus' with UN after Xinjiang visit

The Chinese government has destroyed a graveyard which belonged to Uighur community in Khotan town of Xinjiang Province, claimed historian Rian Thum on Wednesday.

"The Chinese government has now destroyed the central Uyghur graveyard in Khotan. It was also the site of several sacred shrines," tweeted Thum, along with two images taken from satellite: First showing a land filled with structure and the second of barren land.

People Liberation Army has long been blamed for the suppression of the largest ethnic community of the province.

Referring to a notice which appeared near the graveyard, the author of `The Sacred Routes of Uyghur History`, explained that the document was placed to warn the community to remove the corpses of their relatives in six days."

The document refers to this graveyard as the "property of the city" of Khotan. Bodies will be moved to Imam Musa Kazim graveyard.&nbsp;

Relatives have a six-day window to ID graves for the gov, after which it will be "their own responsibility" if ancestors become "unclaimed corpses" he said in the series of tweet. He underlined that this notice was "smuggled" out of China.

Many international human rights organisations have accused China of cracking down on the Uighurs by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending the minority community to undergo some form of forceful re-education or indoctrination.&nbsp;

In 2018, a UN human rights committee publicly stated that they had seen "credible reports" pertaining to the detention of up to two million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in "political indoctrination camps".&nbsp;

However, China has denied all these claims.&nbsp;

Further claiming that this graveyard is not the first, he said, "Another graveyard recently destroyed, this one on the western outskirts of Khotan. H/t to the Uighur netizen who pointed it out to me,".

Around 10 million Uighur are concentrated in the province. The province has been named as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR). It spans over 640,000 square miles, representing about one-sixth of the total land area under the control of the People`s Republic of China.&nbsp;

The Chinese government has destroyed a graveyard which belonged to Uighur community in Khotan town of Xinjiang Province, claimed historian Rian Thum on Wednesday.

The Chinese government has destroyed a graveyard which belonged to Uighur community in Khotan town of Xinjiang Province, claimed historian Rian Thum on Wednesday. "The Chinese government has now destroyed the central Uyghur graveyard in Khotan. It was also the site of several sacred shrines," tweeted Thum, along with two images taken from satellite: First showing a land filled with structure and the second of barren land. People Liberation Army has long been blamed for the suppression of the largest ethnic community of the province. Referring to a notice which appeared near the graveyard, the author of `The Sacred Routes of Uyghur History`, explained that the document was placed to warn the community to remove the corpses of their relatives in six days." The document refers to this graveyard as the "property of the city" of Khotan. Bodies will be moved to Imam Musa Kazim graveyard. Relatives have a six-day window to ID graves for the gov, after which it will be "their own responsibility" if ancestors become "unclaimed corpses" he said in the series of tweet. He underlined that this notice was "smuggled" out of China. Many international human rights organisations have accused China of cracking down on the Uighurs by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending the minority community to undergo some form of forceful re-education or indoctrination. In 2018, a UN human rights committee publicly stated that they had seen "credible reports" pertaining to the detention of up to two million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in "political indoctrination camps". However, China has denied all these claims. Further claiming that this graveyard is not the first, he said, "Another graveyard recently destroyed, this one on the western outskirts of Khotan. H/t to the Uighur netizen who pointed it out to me,". Around 10 million Uighur are concentrated in the province. The province has been named as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR). It spans over 640,000 square miles, representing about one-sixth of the total land area under the control of the People`s Republic of China.

Chinese government has destroyed graveyard of Uighur community: Historian

The United States said Monday it had lost hope for human rights progress in China 30 years after the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinese-state-run-daily-defended-the-governments-handling-of-the-tiananmen-protests-on-monday-223803">crackdown on Tiananmen Square</a> as Beijing, in rare official comments on the bloodshed, insisted it had "immunized" itself against turmoil.

As <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-apologises-for-blocked-china-accounts-ahead-of-tiananmen-anniversary-223682">China tried to impose a media blackout</a> ahead of Tuesday's anniversary of the 1989 assault on pro-democracy protesters, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saluted the "heroic protest movement," which he said still stirred "the conscience of freedom-loving people around the world."

"Over the decades that followed, the United States hoped that China's integration into the international system would lead to a more open, tolerant society. Those hopes have been dashed," Pompeo said.

"Today, Chinese citizens have been subjected to a new wave of abuses, especially in Xinjiang, where the Communist Party leadership is methodically attempting to strangle Uighur culture and stamp out the Islamic faith," he said.

An estimated <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-using-ai-to-identify-uighurs-across-the-country-reports-210712">one million Uighurs have been placed in detention in Xinjiang</a>, massive incarceration that China describes as vocational training to reduce radicalism.

On June 4, 1989, Beijing's communist rulers sent tanks and troops into Tiananmen Square, the symbolic heart of Chinese power, to crush a student-led movement that had been growing for seven weeks and featured a Goddess of Democracy statue that resembled the Statue of Liberty.

Hundreds of unarmed civilians, and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/on-tiananmen-anniversary-us-tells-china-to-make-full-public-account-of-those-killed-detained-or-missing-142033">possibly more than 1,000 were killed</a>.

"We urge the Chinese government to make a full, public accounting of those killed or missing to give comfort to the many victims of this dark chapter of history," Pompeo said, calling on China to "release all those held for seeking to exercise" fundamental rights and freedoms.

Watch: 30 Years Of Pro-Democracy Protests In China

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'A political success'

With younger Chinese having no direct memories of the Tiananmen movement, Beijing has gone to exhaustive lengths to prevent commemorations, with authorities detaining activists and live streaming services conspicuously down for "technical" reasons.

But in an unusual step, China acknowledged -- and justified -- the Tiananmen crackdown in remarks geared at foreign audiences.

The English edition of the state-run Global Times tabloid called the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/at-least-10000-killed-in-1989-tiananmen-crackdown-british-cable-27564">handling of Tiananmen and its aftermath</a> "a political success."

"As a vaccination for... Chinese society, the Tiananmen incident will greatly increase China's immunity against any major political turmoil in the future," it said in an editorial published Monday.

And Defence Minister Wei Fenghe, speaking Sunday at a regional forum in Singapore, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinese-defence-minister-says-tiananmen-crackdown-was-justified-223616">defended the crackdown</a> when he responded to an audience question.

"That incident was political turbulence and the central government took measures to stop the turbulence which is a correct policy," he said.

China's economy has soared since Tiananmen to become the second largest in the world, with the United States under President Bill Clinton welcoming Beijing into the global trading order and hoping that rising prosperity would bring improvements in human rights.

In pics: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/tiananmens-key-moments-hope-crushed-by-soldiers-and-tanks-223563">Hope crushed by soldiers and tanks-Tiananmen's key moments&nbsp;</a>

President Donald Trump has voiced regret over China's trajectory on economic grounds as well. He has slapped tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods and accused Beijing of rampant theft of US technology, setting off an accelerating trade battle.

The Trump administration has raised human rights repeatedly with China, although it treads much more lightly when addressing rights issues in US-allied countries.

Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the United States needed to look inward and be more consistent on human rights as it tackled China's record.

"Unlike 30 years ago, when America stood with the brave Chinese people in the face of repression, we hear deafening silence from the White House at best and voices fanning the flames at worst," Menendez told a Tiananmen commemoration event at the National Endowment for Democracy.

The United States said Monday it had lost hope for human rights progress in China 30 years after the crackdown on Tiananmen Square as Beijing, in rare official comments on the bloodshed, insisted it had "immunized" itself against turmoil.

The United States said Monday it had lost hope for human rights progress in China 30 years after the crackdown on Tiananmen Square as Beijing, in rare official comments on the bloodshed, insisted it had "immunized" itself against turmoil. As China tried to impose a media blackout ahead of Tuesday's anniversary of the 1989 assault on pro-democracy protesters, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saluted the "heroic protest movement," which he said still stirred "the conscience of freedom-loving people around the world." "Over the decades that followed, the United States hoped that China's integration into the international system would lead to a more open, tolerant society. Those hopes have been dashed," Pompeo said. "Today, Chinese citizens have been subjected to a new wave of abuses, especially in Xinjiang, where the Communist Party leadership is methodically attempting to strangle Uighur culture and stamp out the Islamic faith," he said. An estimated one million Uighurs have been placed in detention in Xinjiang, massive incarceration that China describes as vocational training to reduce radicalism. On June 4, 1989, Beijing's communist rulers sent tanks and troops into Tiananmen Square, the symbolic heart of Chinese power, to crush a student-led movement that had been growing for seven weeks and featured a Goddess of Democracy statue that resembled the Statue of Liberty. Hundreds of unarmed civilians, and possibly more than 1,000 were killed. "We urge the Chinese government to make a full, public accounting of those killed or missing to give comfort to the many victims of this dark chapter of history," Pompeo said, calling on China to "release all those held for seeking to exercise" fundamental rights and freedoms. Watch: 30 Years Of Pro-Democracy Protests In China × 'A political success' With younger Chinese having no direct memories of the Tiananmen movement, Beijing has gone to exhaustive lengths to prevent commemorations, with authorities detaining activists and live streaming services conspicuously down for "technical" reasons. But in an unusual step, China acknowledged -- and justified -- the Tiananmen crackdown in remarks geared at foreign audiences. The English edition of the state-run Global Times tabloid called the handling of Tiananmen and its aftermath "a political success." "As a vaccination for... Chinese society, the Tiananmen incident will greatly increase China's immunity against any major political turmoil in the future," it said in an editorial published Monday. And Defence Minister Wei Fenghe, speaking Sunday at a regional forum in Singapore, defended the crackdown when he responded to an audience question. "That incident was political turbulence and the central government took measures to stop the turbulence which is a correct policy," he said. China's economy has soared since Tiananmen to become the second largest in the world, with the United States under President Bill Clinton welcoming Beijing into the global trading order and hoping that rising prosperity would bring improvements in human rights. In pics: Hope crushed by soldiers and tanks-Tiananmen's key moments President Donald Trump has voiced regret over China's trajectory on economic grounds as well. He has slapped tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods and accused Beijing of rampant theft of US technology, setting off an accelerating trade battle. The Trump administration has raised human rights repeatedly with China, although it treads much more lightly when addressing rights issues in US-allied countries. Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the United States needed to look inward and be more consistent on human rights as it tackled China's record. "Unlike 30 years ago, when America stood with the brave Chinese people in the face of repression, we hear deafening silence from the White House at best and voices fanning the flames at worst," Menendez told a Tiananmen commemoration event at the National Endowment for Democracy.

Post-Tiananmen, Chinese citizens subjected to new wave of abuses: US

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres raised the plight of ethnic <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-using-ai-to-identify-uighurs-across-the-country-reports-210712">Uighurs&nbsp;in Xinjiang</a> region during talks with Chinese leaders and stressed that China must fully respect human rights, his spokesman said.

Guterres faced calls to speak out on human rights during his visit to Beijing where he attended a summit on Saturday of China's prized <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-rejects-turkey-criticism-on-uighurs-denies-poet-died-196702">Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)</a> and held talks with President Xi Jinping.

The UN chief delivered a three-point message that stressed that human rights must be upheld in the fight against extremism, while recognising China's sovereignty and condemning terrorism.

"Human rights must be fully respected in the fight against terrorism and in the prevention of violent extremism," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

"Each community must feel that its identity is respected and that if fully belongs to the nation as a whole." As many as one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are being held in internment camps in Xinjiang, according to a group of experts cited last year by the United Nations.

Beijing claims the camps are "vocational training centers" to steer people away from extremism and reintegrate them, in a region plagued by violence blamed on Uighur separatists or Islamists.

In the run-up to the trip, Guterres had met with UN ambassadors from the United States, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Turkey who urged him to raise the situation in Xinjiang during his meetings, UN sources said.

That presented Guterres with a diplomatic challenge to discuss the ultra-sensitive matter with China, the UN's second largest financial contributor and a veto-wielding Security Council member.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet last month complained that she had yet to be given the green light by China for a fact-finding mission to the region following a request made in December.

Guterres told Chinese leaders that he "fully stands by the initiatives" of his rights chief, Dujarric said, but there was no announcement on dispatching an independent assessment team to Xinjiang.

Dujarric described the talks as "very cordial" and "frank," adding that the dialogue will continue.

Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth last week wrote a scathing op-ed about Guterres, accusing him of being silent on human rights and firmly siding with quiet diplomacy since he became UN chief in January 2017.

Roth said Guterres had yet to speak out publicly on the plight of the Uighurs. "Instead, he praises China's development prowess and rolls out the red carpet for President Xi Jinping." Guterres has visited China four times as UN chief.&nbsp;

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres raised the plight of ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang region during talks with Chinese leaders and stressed that China must fully respect human rights, his spokesman said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres raised the plight of ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang region during talks with Chinese leaders and stressed that China must fully respect human rights, his spokesman said. Guterres faced calls to speak out on human rights during his visit to Beijing where he attended a summit on Saturday of China's prized Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) and held talks with President Xi Jinping. The UN chief delivered a three-point message that stressed that human rights must be upheld in the fight against extremism, while recognising China's sovereignty and condemning terrorism. "Human rights must be fully respected in the fight against terrorism and in the prevention of violent extremism," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. "Each community must feel that its identity is respected and that if fully belongs to the nation as a whole." As many as one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are being held in internment camps in Xinjiang, according to a group of experts cited last year by the United Nations. Beijing claims the camps are "vocational training centers" to steer people away from extremism and reintegrate them, in a region plagued by violence blamed on Uighur separatists or Islamists. In the run-up to the trip, Guterres had met with UN ambassadors from the United States, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Turkey who urged him to raise the situation in Xinjiang during his meetings, UN sources said. That presented Guterres with a diplomatic challenge to discuss the ultra-sensitive matter with China, the UN's second largest financial contributor and a veto-wielding Security Council member. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet last month complained that she had yet to be given the green light by China for a fact-finding mission to the region following a request made in December. Guterres told Chinese leaders that he "fully stands by the initiatives" of his rights chief, Dujarric said, but there was no announcement on dispatching an independent assessment team to Xinjiang. Dujarric described the talks as "very cordial" and "frank," adding that the dialogue will continue. Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth last week wrote a scathing op-ed about Guterres, accusing him of being silent on human rights and firmly siding with quiet diplomacy since he became UN chief in January 2017. Roth said Guterres had yet to speak out publicly on the plight of the Uighurs. "Instead, he praises China's development prowess and rolls out the red carpet for President Xi Jinping." Guterres has visited China four times as UN chief.

Human rights must be upheld in fight against extremism: UN chief Guterres to China

Chinese authorities are using a vast system of facial recognition technology to<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/criticising-uighur-policy-could-hit-economic-relations-china-to-turkey-200550"> track its Uighur Muslim minority</a> across the country, according to a story in the New York Times.

Beijing has already attracted widespread criticism for its<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/show-us-video-information-of-missing-relatives-activists-lash-out-at-china-196893"> treatment of Uighurs</a> in the northwest region of Xinjiang, where up to one million members of mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking minority groups are held in internment camps, according to estimates cited by a UN panel.

But according to a Times article on Sunday, facial recognition technology - integrated into China’s huge networks of surveillance cameras - has been programmed to look exclusively for Uighurs based on their appearance and keep records of their movements across China.

Police are now reportedly using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to target Uighurs outside Xinjiang, including in wealthy cities like Hangzhou and Wenzhou. The newspaper claims one central city scanned whether residents were Uighurs 500,000 times in one month alone.

Beijing announced a plan in 2017 to become the world leader in the AI industry. But there have been concerns in the international community that new smart technology is being used for heavy police surveillance in recent years after violent inter-ethnic tensions.

The Times cites experts who say this is the first known example of a government intentionally using AI for racial profiling, with appetite for the new systems growing in cities across the country.

In the central province of Shaanxi, authorities reportedly "aimed to acquire a smart camera system last year that 'should support facial recognition to identify Uighur/non-Uighur attributes'."

The Times says China's Ministry of Public Security did not respond to a faxed request for comment.

China denies the accounts of mass detention in Xinjiang, saying it is running educational training centres as part of a fight against Islamic extremism in the region.

Chinese authorities are using a vast system of facial recognition technology to track its Uighur Muslim minority across the country, according to a story in the New York Times.

Chinese authorities are using a vast system of facial recognition technology to track its Uighur Muslim minority across the country, according to a story in the New York Times. Beijing has already attracted widespread criticism for its treatment of Uighurs in the northwest region of Xinjiang, where up to one million members of mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking minority groups are held in internment camps, according to estimates cited by a UN panel. But according to a Times article on Sunday, facial recognition technology - integrated into China’s huge networks of surveillance cameras - has been programmed to look exclusively for Uighurs based on their appearance and keep records of their movements across China. Police are now reportedly using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to target Uighurs outside Xinjiang, including in wealthy cities like Hangzhou and Wenzhou. The newspaper claims one central city scanned whether residents were Uighurs 500,000 times in one month alone. Beijing announced a plan in 2017 to become the world leader in the AI industry. But there have been concerns in the international community that new smart technology is being used for heavy police surveillance in recent years after violent inter-ethnic tensions. The Times cites experts who say this is the first known example of a government intentionally using AI for racial profiling, with appetite for the new systems growing in cities across the country. In the central province of Shaanxi, authorities reportedly "aimed to acquire a smart camera system last year that 'should support facial recognition to identify Uighur/non-Uighur attributes'." The Times says China's Ministry of Public Security did not respond to a faxed request for comment. China denies the accounts of mass detention in Xinjiang, saying it is running educational training centres as part of a fight against Islamic extremism in the region.

China using AI to identify Uighurs across the country: Reports

China on Monday refuted criticism that the $60 billion CPEC has intensified Pakistan's economic risks, saying that less than 20 per cent of the current projects under the initiative is using Chinese loans.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which connects Gwadar Port in Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

As China pressed ahead with the BRI, it drew strong criticism that Chinese projects are being built with heavy interest rates and without due diligence studies about their viability, leaving the smaller countries in heavy debt.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/india-faces-diplomatic-challenge-as-saudi-arabia-and-china-embrace-pakistan-198320">India</a> has also protested to China over the CPEC as it traverses through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.&nbsp;

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told the media here on Monday that the CPEC is a symbol of China-Pakistan cooperation in the new era and also an important pilot programme of the BRI.

Defending the massive infusion of Chinese money into Pakistan, which is a close ally of Beijing, Lu said carrying out major projects with international financing is a global practice.

It is also an effective approach for developing countries to handle the financial bottlenecks and foster growth, he said.

"Only less than 20 per cent of the current CPEC projects are using Chinese loans and more than 80 per cent of them are directly invested by China or using Chinese grants," he said.

"So, these CPEC projects didn't further increase Pakistan's burden. On the contrary, it is strengthening Pakistan's economy," he said.

 
"It has greatly improved Pakistan's infrastructure and power supply and of course it is welcomed by Pakistan government and its people," he said.&nbsp;

China on Monday refuted criticism that the $60 billion CPEC has intensified Pakistan's economic risks, saying that less than 20 per cent of the current projects under the initiative is using Chinese loans.

China on Monday refuted criticism that the $60 billion CPEC has intensified Pakistan's economic risks, saying that less than 20 per cent of the current projects under the initiative is using Chinese loans. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which connects Gwadar Port in Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). As China pressed ahead with the BRI, it drew strong criticism that Chinese projects are being built with heavy interest rates and without due diligence studies about their viability, leaving the smaller countries in heavy debt. India has also protested to China over the CPEC as it traverses through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told the media here on Monday that the CPEC is a symbol of China-Pakistan cooperation in the new era and also an important pilot programme of the BRI. Defending the massive infusion of Chinese money into Pakistan, which is a close ally of Beijing, Lu said carrying out major projects with international financing is a global practice. It is also an effective approach for developing countries to handle the financial bottlenecks and foster growth, he said. "Only less than 20 per cent of the current CPEC projects are using Chinese loans and more than 80 per cent of them are directly invested by China or using Chinese grants," he said. "So, these CPEC projects didn't further increase Pakistan's burden. On the contrary, it is strengthening Pakistan's economy," he said. "It has greatly improved Pakistan's infrastructure and power supply and of course it is welcomed by Pakistan government and its people," he said.

China denies CPEC intensified Pakistan's economic risks

A draft US resolution that would designate a Pakistani terrorist Masood Azhar as a global terrorist threatens to be China’s, and possibly Pakistan’s showdown at the OK Corral.&nbsp;

The draft is supported by Britain and France.

The resolution, if formally tabled in the full United Nations Security Council, could force China to justify its ten-year long blocking of efforts to designate Masood Azhar, the head of Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Jaish-e-Mohammed is believed to be responsible for last month’s suicide attack in Jammu&nbsp;and Kashmir.

At least 40 Indian paramilitary personnel died in the attack that briefly brought Pakistan and India to the brink of war.

China, earlier this month, blocked a French draft resolution presented to the council’s 1267 committee, saying it needed more time to study evidence against Azhar.

Known as the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, the committee was established on the basis of Security Council resolution 1267 adopted in 1999 to create a sanctions regime for Al Qaida and the Taliban.

China has in the past said there was insufficient proof to list the Pakistani militant. In response to the US draft, China’s foreign ministry said this week that a “comprehensive and thorough” assessment was needed before blacklisting Azhar.

The United States, by circulating the draft weeks after the failed French attempt, is in effect saying that China can no longer buy time. The US draft amounts to an effort to put on public display seeming contradictions in Chinese as well as Pakistani policy.

To be sure, China, as a permanent Security Council member, is likely to veto the US draft if it were to be put to the vote.

The veto, however, would put to rest Chinese assertions that Beijing had so far not vetoed Azhar’s blacklisting but “put a hold on the application” to promote “proper settlement of the issue through dialogue.”

The Chinese position was supported by Pakistan’s UN ambassador, Maleeha Lodhi, who cautioned that the Security Council’s terrorism sanctions regime and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international anti-money laundering and terrorism finance watchdog, should not be used by powers as a tool to score geopolitical points. Lodhi was pointing fingers at the United States but stopped short of explicitly mentioning it.

“Pakistan has been the principal victim of terrorism, including that supported, sponsored and financed from abroad. But this has not diminished my country’s resolve to eliminate this scourge,” Lodhi insisted.

Pakistan’s support of Chinese obstruction of Azhar’s designation casts, however, a further shadow over the Islamabad government’s so far unsuccessful efforts to convince FATF that it is addressing the group’s criticism. FATF has threatened to put the South Asian state on its blacklist.

FATF’s regional affiliate, the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, this week, took Pakistan to task for its allegedly weak implementation of measures against proscribed groups.

A failure to satisfactorily address FATF concerns could impact Pakistan’s application for a financial aid package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Pakistan denies Indian claims that Jaish-e-Mohammed is one of several militant groups supported by the Pakistani military.

Pakistan says it has intensified its crackdown on militants in the wake of the Kashmir attack. The government announced earlier this month that it had taken control of 182 religious schools and detained more than 100 people, including Azhar’s brother, as part of its push against banned groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed.

In response, Azhar has denied government claims that he was seriously ill, ridiculed the government’s assertion that it was truly cracking down and warned that the crackdown would spark jihad across South Asia.

He also goaded India in his regular column in Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Al-Qalam weekly. “India’s brain is not working. They are trying to threaten us. But are their threats making us scared? Certainly not. In fact, their threats encourage us. Their threats do the same trick as public appreciation does for a poet reciting his poetry,” Azhar wrote.

China, perhaps inadvertently, helped increase pressure on Pakistan to meet FATF’s requirements by voting this week in favour of a Security Council resolution that criminalises funding of political violence and demands that all countries establish legal frameworks to counter the practice.

The US draft could put China in the difficult position of having to square its shielding of Azhar with its effort to convince the international community that its brutal crackdown on Turkic Muslims in the troubled north-western province of Xinjiang is key to its fight against political violence.

China asserted in a white paper published this month that its counterterrorism policies in Xinjiang that amount to a frontal attempt to alter Islamic practices and involve the incarceration of up to one million people in re-education camps dubbed vocational training facilities were producing results. The paper claimed that the policies were in accordance with the rule of law and protecting human rights.

“Hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of Uyghurs are held against their will in so-called re-education camps where they’re forced to endure severe political indoctrination and other awful abuses,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Washington on Friday.

Pompeo was speaking after meeting with a former detainee, Mihrigul Tursun, and three other Uyghur activists. Tursun has spoken publicly about allegedly being abused and tortured in detention.

The meeting and Pompeo’s remarks came against the backdrop of moves in the US Congress to out Chinese companies that facilitate the crackdown in Xinjiang.

Major US institutional investors have recently divested from Hikvision, the world’s largest surveillance company that provides technology used in Xinjiang’s re-education camps.

China’s predicament in squaring its protection of Azhar with the justification of its crackdown is unlikely to crack the Muslim world’s wall of silence about what is happening to their Chinese brethren. Western pressure on China threatens to strike closer to home.

To their credit, Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan and Indonesian president Joko Widodo have refrained from following in the footsteps of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and Kazakh foreign minister Beibut Atamkulov, as well as, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation that all have endorsed China’s crackdown.

But Khan’s repeated assertion over a period of months that he lacks information or knows nothing about the situation in Xinjiang, even if scores of Pakistani nationals have complained about the disappearance of spouses and other relatives, is wearing thin.

Pakistani businessmen travelling last September to Beijing to petition for the release of their wives was headline news.

Khan’s insistence that “I haven't heard about that” is hardly a sustainable position. 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

A draft US resolution that would designate a Pakistani terrorist Masood Azhar as a global terrorist threatens to be China’s, and possibly Pakistan’s showdown at the OK Corral.

A draft US resolution that would designate a Pakistani terrorist Masood Azhar as a global terrorist threatens to be China’s, and possibly Pakistan’s showdown at the OK Corral. The draft is supported by Britain and France. The resolution, if formally tabled in the full United Nations Security Council, could force China to justify its ten-year long blocking of efforts to designate Masood Azhar, the head of Jaish-e-Mohammed. Jaish-e-Mohammed is believed to be responsible for last month’s suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 40 Indian paramilitary personnel died in the attack that briefly brought Pakistan and India to the brink of war. China, earlier this month, blocked a French draft resolution presented to the council’s 1267 committee, saying it needed more time to study evidence against Azhar. Known as the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, the committee was established on the basis of Security Council resolution 1267 adopted in 1999 to create a sanctions regime for Al Qaida and the Taliban. China has in the past said there was insufficient proof to list the Pakistani militant. In response to the US draft, China’s foreign ministry said this week that a “comprehensive and thorough” assessment was needed before blacklisting Azhar. The United States, by circulating the draft weeks after the failed French attempt, is in effect saying that China can no longer buy time. The US draft amounts to an effort to put on public display seeming contradictions in Chinese as well as Pakistani policy. To be sure, China, as a permanent Security Council member, is likely to veto the US draft if it were to be put to the vote. The veto, however, would put to rest Chinese assertions that Beijing had so far not vetoed Azhar’s blacklisting but “put a hold on the application” to promote “proper settlement of the issue through dialogue.” The Chinese position was supported by Pakistan’s UN ambassador, Maleeha Lodhi, who cautioned that the Security Council’s terrorism sanctions regime and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international anti-money laundering and terrorism finance watchdog, should not be used by powers as a tool to score geopolitical points. Lodhi was pointing fingers at the United States but stopped short of explicitly mentioning it. “Pakistan has been the principal victim of terrorism, including that supported, sponsored and financed from abroad. But this has not diminished my country’s resolve to eliminate this scourge,” Lodhi insisted. Pakistan’s support of Chinese obstruction of Azhar’s designation casts, however, a further shadow over the Islamabad government’s so far unsuccessful efforts to convince FATF that it is addressing the group’s criticism. FATF has threatened to put the South Asian state on its blacklist. FATF’s regional affiliate, the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, this week, took Pakistan to task for its allegedly weak implementation of measures against proscribed groups. A failure to satisfactorily address FATF concerns could impact Pakistan’s application for a financial aid package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Pakistan denies Indian claims that Jaish-e-Mohammed is one of several militant groups supported by the Pakistani military. Pakistan says it has intensified its crackdown on militants in the wake of the Kashmir attack. The government announced earlier this month that it had taken control of 182 religious schools and detained more than 100 people, including Azhar’s brother, as part of its push against banned groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed. In response, Azhar has denied government claims that he was seriously ill, ridiculed the government’s assertion that it was truly cracking down and warned that the crackdown would spark jihad across South Asia. He also goaded India in his regular column in Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Al-Qalam weekly. “India’s brain is not working. They are trying to threaten us. But are their threats making us scared? Certainly not. In fact, their threats encourage us. Their threats do the same trick as public appreciation does for a poet reciting his poetry,” Azhar wrote. China, perhaps inadvertently, helped increase pressure on Pakistan to meet FATF’s requirements by voting this week in favour of a Security Council resolution that criminalises funding of political violence and demands that all countries establish legal frameworks to counter the practice. The US draft could put China in the difficult position of having to square its shielding of Azhar with its effort to convince the international community that its brutal crackdown on Turkic Muslims in the troubled north-western province of Xinjiang is key to its fight against political violence. China asserted in a white paper published this month that its counterterrorism policies in Xinjiang that amount to a frontal attempt to alter Islamic practices and involve the incarceration of up to one million people in re-education camps dubbed vocational training facilities were producing results. The paper claimed that the policies were in accordance with the rule of law and protecting human rights. “Hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of Uyghurs are held against their will in so-called re-education camps where they’re forced to endure severe political indoctrination and other awful abuses,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Washington on Friday. Pompeo was speaking after meeting with a former detainee, Mihrigul Tursun, and three other Uyghur activists. Tursun has spoken publicly about allegedly being abused and tortured in detention. The meeting and Pompeo’s remarks came against the backdrop of moves in the US Congress to out Chinese companies that facilitate the crackdown in Xinjiang. Major US institutional investors have recently divested from Hikvision, the world’s largest surveillance company that provides technology used in Xinjiang’s re-education camps. China’s predicament in squaring its protection of Azhar with the justification of its crackdown is unlikely to crack the Muslim world’s wall of silence about what is happening to their Chinese brethren. Western pressure on China threatens to strike closer to home. To their credit, Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan and Indonesian president Joko Widodo have refrained from following in the footsteps of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and Kazakh foreign minister Beibut Atamkulov, as well as, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation that all have endorsed China’s crackdown. But Khan’s repeated assertion over a period of months that he lacks information or knows nothing about the situation in Xinjiang, even if scores of Pakistani nationals have complained about the disappearance of spouses and other relatives, is wearing thin. Pakistani businessmen travelling last September to Beijing to petition for the release of their wives was headline news. Khan’s insistence that “I haven't heard about that” is hardly a sustainable position. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

Masood Azhar issue and crackdown on Uighurs put China in a tight spot

China said Thursday it had invited European diplomats to visit the restive northwest region of Xinjiang, where Beijing is accused of rights abuses against the ethnic Uighur Muslims.

"In order to enhance the understanding of the achievements of Xinjiang's economic and social development in Europe... the Chinese side invited the diplomatic envoys of European countries to visit Xinjiang," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters.

The dates of the visit and other arrangements were under discussion, he said, hoping the trip would allow the diplomats to "experience the stability and harmony of Xinjiang, and the real situation of people of all nationalities living and working in peace and contentment".

As many as one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are being held in internment camps in Xinjiang, according to a group of experts cited last year by the United Nations.

Beijing claims the camps are "vocational training centres" that help steer people who may be drawn to extremism away from terrorism and reintegrate them into society in a region plagued by violence blamed on Uighur separatists or Islamists.

Questioned during a press briefing, French ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said that as far as he knew, no ambassador from an EU country had yet received an invitation.

"We were told that we would be invited to Xinjiang," he said, adding they had indicated they would be happy to go.

After months denying the existence of the internment camps, Beijing last year launched a campaign to defend its "training centres", organising visits starting with diplomats or media from friendly countries.

However, a delegation of three EU officials who visited Xinjiang in January as part of a carefully organised visit said they had the impression that the people they had spoken to in a "training centre" were reciting a dictated speech.

Former detainees say they were interned for simply following Islamic traditions, such as having a long beard or wearing a veil.

China said Thursday it had invited European diplomats to visit the restive northwest region of Xinjiang, where Beijing is accused of rights abuses against the ethnic Uighur Muslims.

China said Thursday it had invited European diplomats to visit the restive northwest region of Xinjiang, where Beijing is accused of rights abuses against the ethnic Uighur Muslims. "In order to enhance the understanding of the achievements of Xinjiang's economic and social development in Europe... the Chinese side invited the diplomatic envoys of European countries to visit Xinjiang," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters. The dates of the visit and other arrangements were under discussion, he said, hoping the trip would allow the diplomats to "experience the stability and harmony of Xinjiang, and the real situation of people of all nationalities living and working in peace and contentment". As many as one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are being held in internment camps in Xinjiang, according to a group of experts cited last year by the United Nations. Beijing claims the camps are "vocational training centres" that help steer people who may be drawn to extremism away from terrorism and reintegrate them into society in a region plagued by violence blamed on Uighur separatists or Islamists. Questioned during a press briefing, French ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said that as far as he knew, no ambassador from an EU country had yet received an invitation. "We were told that we would be invited to Xinjiang," he said, adding they had indicated they would be happy to go. After months denying the existence of the internment camps, Beijing last year launched a campaign to defend its "training centres", organising visits starting with diplomats or media from friendly countries. However, a delegation of three EU officials who visited Xinjiang in January as part of a carefully organised visit said they had the impression that the people they had spoken to in a "training centre" were reciting a dictated speech. Former detainees say they were interned for simply following Islamic traditions, such as having a long beard or wearing a veil.

China 'invites' EU diplomats to visit Xinjiang

China on Monday defended its controversial security crackdown in the fractious far west region of Xinjiang, saying nearly 13,000 "terrorists" have been arrested there since 2014.

Beijing has come under international criticism over its policies in the region, where as many as one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are being held in internment camps, according to human rights groups.

The State Council, China's cabinet, hit back again with a white paper saying that the government "is relentless in striking hard, in accordance with the law, at any conduct advocating terrorism and extremism".

The document states that Xinjiang has long been part of Chinese territory but that "terrorist and extremist forces" have fomented separatist activities by "falsifying" the region's history.

"Since 2014, Xinjiang has destroyed 1,588 violent and terrorist gangs, arrested 12,995 terrorists, seized 2,052 explosive devices, punished 30,645 people for 4,858 illegal religious activities, and confiscated 345,229 copies of illegal religious materials," according to the white paper.

"The counter-terrorism work and the de-extremisation struggle in Xinjiang have always been carried out in accordance with the rule of law," it added.&nbsp;

The paper was quickly condemned by a Uighur rights group, which called it "a political excuse to suppress the Uighurs".&nbsp;

"The purpose of releasing the so-called white paper is a means of getting local support for its extreme policies and to cover up human rights abuses," Dilxat Raxit, spokesman of the exiled World Uyghur Congress, said in a statement.&nbsp;

Xinjiang, which shares a border with several countries including Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long suffered from violent unrest, which China claims is orchestrated by an organised "terrorist" movement seeking the region's independence.

China has previously denied the presence of the internment camps, but have in recent months shifted to calling them "vocational education centres" akin to boarding schools, with students checking involuntarily.&nbsp;

The "preventive measures" have brought a "marked change" in the region, with people having "a much stronger sense of fulfilment, happiness and security," the white paper said.

But former inmates have said they found themselves incarcerated for transgressions such as wearing long beards and face veils or sharing Islamic holiday greetings on social media.

Beijing has also gone on a public relations blitz in recent months, taking journalists and diplomats on tours to visit the region and the centres.&nbsp;

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China on Monday defended its controversial security crackdown in the fractious far west region of Xinjiang, saying nearly 13,000 "terrorists" have been arrested there since 2014.

China on Monday defended its controversial security crackdown in the fractious far west region of Xinjiang, saying nearly 13,000 "terrorists" have been arrested there since 2014. Beijing has come under international criticism over its policies in the region, where as many as one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are being held in internment camps, according to human rights groups. The State Council, China's cabinet, hit back again with a white paper saying that the government "is relentless in striking hard, in accordance with the law, at any conduct advocating terrorism and extremism". The document states that Xinjiang has long been part of Chinese territory but that "terrorist and extremist forces" have fomented separatist activities by "falsifying" the region's history. "Since 2014, Xinjiang has destroyed 1,588 violent and terrorist gangs, arrested 12,995 terrorists, seized 2,052 explosive devices, punished 30,645 people for 4,858 illegal religious activities, and confiscated 345,229 copies of illegal religious materials," according to the white paper. "The counter-terrorism work and the de-extremisation struggle in Xinjiang have always been carried out in accordance with the rule of law," it added. The paper was quickly condemned by a Uighur rights group, which called it "a political excuse to suppress the Uighurs". "The purpose of releasing the so-called white paper is a means of getting local support for its extreme policies and to cover up human rights abuses," Dilxat Raxit, spokesman of the exiled World Uyghur Congress, said in a statement. Xinjiang, which shares a border with several countries including Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long suffered from violent unrest, which China claims is orchestrated by an organised "terrorist" movement seeking the region's independence. China has previously denied the presence of the internment camps, but have in recent months shifted to calling them "vocational education centres" akin to boarding schools, with students checking involuntarily. The "preventive measures" have brought a "marked change" in the region, with people having "a much stronger sense of fulfilment, happiness and security," the white paper said. But former inmates have said they found themselves incarcerated for transgressions such as wearing long beards and face veils or sharing Islamic holiday greetings on social media. Beijing has also gone on a public relations blitz in recent months, taking journalists and diplomats on tours to visit the region and the centres.

China says nearly 13,000 'terrorists' arrested in Xinjiang

The US State Department on Wednesday slammed human rights violations in China, saying the sort of abuses it had inflicted on its <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinese-official-rejects-criticism-over-xinjiang-muslim-camps-says-it-will-gradually-disappear-202913">Muslim minorities</a> had not been seen "since the 1930s."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighted abuses in Iran, South Sudan, Nicaragua and China in the department`s annual "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices," but told reporters that China was "in a league of its own when it comes to human rights violations."&nbsp;

"For me, you haven’t seen things like this since the 1930s," Michael Kozak, the head of the State Department`s human rights and democracy bureau told the same briefing, referring to abuses of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ready-to-allow-un-officials-in-xinjiang-if-they-follow-proper-procedure-china-188790">China`s Muslim minority in the Xinjiang </a>region.

"Rounding up, in some estimations ... in the millions of people, putting them into camps, and torturing them, abusing them, and trying to basically erase their culture and their religion and so on from their DNA. It’s just remarkably awful."

"It is one of the most serious human rights violations in the world today," he said.

While Kozak did not elaborate on his comment about the 1930s, he was apparently referring to the policies of persecution of Hitler`s Germany and Stalin`s Soviet Union.&nbsp;

China had initially denied there even were camps, Kozak said, adding its explanation now that they were for voluntary labour training "does not match the facts."

"But at least we`re starting to make them realize there is a lot of international scrutiny on this," he said.

China`s Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on the report, which comes at a time of closely-watched trade negotiations between the United States and China aimed at resolving a tit-for-tat tariffs dispute.

Xinjiang Governor Shohrat Zakir said on Tuesday that China was running boarding schools, not concentration camps, in the country`s far western region as the US ambassador for religious freedom called the situation there "completely unacceptable," and said sanctions against Chinese officials under the Global Magnitsky Act remained a "possibility."

The administration of President Donald Trump has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, including the Communist Party boss there, Chen Quanguo, who as a member of the powerful politburo is in the upper echelons of China`s leadership. Beijing has warned of retaliation if Washington were to target Chen and the administration has yet to act despite complaints from US lawmakers.

The State Department report said Chen had replicated in Xinjiang policies similar to those credited with reducing opposition to Communist Party rule in Tibet, where he was previously stationed.

INTENSIFIED DETENTION CAMPAIGN&nbsp;

The report said that in the past year, China had significantly intensified its campaign of mass detention of members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang.

It said authorities there were reported to have arbitrarily detained from 800,000 to possibly more than two million Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs and other Muslims in camps with the aim of erasing religious and ethnic identities.

Pompeo said the Iranian government had killed more than 20 people and arrested thousands without due process for protesting for their rights "continuing a pattern of cruelty the regime has inflicted on the Iranian people for the last four decades."

In South Sudan, he said, military forces had inflicted sexual violence against civilians based on their political allegiances and ethnicity, while in Nicaragua, peaceful protesters had faced sniper fire and government critics had "faced a policy of exile, jail or death."

The report also revised its usual description of the Golan Heights from "Israeli-occupied" to "Israeli-controlled."

A separate section on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, areas that Israel captured along with the Golan Heights in a 1967 war in the Middle East, also did not refer to those territories as being "occupied," or under "occupation."

In Myanmar, the report said press freedom had declined and journalists had reported that self-censorship had became more pronounced because of the trial and conviction of Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who were jailed for seven years after being convicted in September of breaking a colonial-era official secrets law.

The reporters had been working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Muslim men and boys by security forces and Buddhist civilians in Myanmar`s Rakhine State.

Responding to the US report, Amnesty International criticized the Trump administration for engaging with governments, including that of Saudi Arabia, "regardless of their human rights record, if doing so will advance US interests."&nbsp;

The State Department report highlighted Saudi Arabia`s killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and said it had not provided a detailed explanation of the direction or progress of the investigation.

A CIA assessment and a Senate resolution have blamed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for ordering the killing, something Saudi officials deny, but President Donald Trump has said Washington will remain a "steadfast partner" of Saudi Arabia even though the prince may have known about the plan.

Republican and Democratic US senators said this month they were frustrated with the Trump administration`s failure to provide more information about the case and vowed to push for a stronger response.

The US State Department on Wednesday slammed human rights violations in China, saying the sort of abuses it had inflicted on its Muslim minorities had not been seen "since the 1930s.

The US State Department on Wednesday slammed human rights violations in China, saying the sort of abuses it had inflicted on its Muslim minorities had not been seen "since the 1930s." US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighted abuses in Iran, South Sudan, Nicaragua and China in the department`s annual "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices," but told reporters that China was "in a league of its own when it comes to human rights violations." "For me, you haven’t seen things like this since the 1930s," Michael Kozak, the head of the State Department`s human rights and democracy bureau told the same briefing, referring to abuses of China`s Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region. "Rounding up, in some estimations ... in the millions of people, putting them into camps, and torturing them, abusing them, and trying to basically erase their culture and their religion and so on from their DNA. It’s just remarkably awful." "It is one of the most serious human rights violations in the world today," he said. While Kozak did not elaborate on his comment about the 1930s, he was apparently referring to the policies of persecution of Hitler`s Germany and Stalin`s Soviet Union. China had initially denied there even were camps, Kozak said, adding its explanation now that they were for voluntary labour training "does not match the facts." "But at least we`re starting to make them realize there is a lot of international scrutiny on this," he said. China`s Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on the report, which comes at a time of closely-watched trade negotiations between the United States and China aimed at resolving a tit-for-tat tariffs dispute. Xinjiang Governor Shohrat Zakir said on Tuesday that China was running boarding schools, not concentration camps, in the country`s far western region as the US ambassador for religious freedom called the situation there "completely unacceptable," and said sanctions against Chinese officials under the Global Magnitsky Act remained a "possibility." The administration of President Donald Trump has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, including the Communist Party boss there, Chen Quanguo, who as a member of the powerful politburo is in the upper echelons of China`s leadership. Beijing has warned of retaliation if Washington were to target Chen and the administration has yet to act despite complaints from US lawmakers. The State Department report said Chen had replicated in Xinjiang policies similar to those credited with reducing opposition to Communist Party rule in Tibet, where he was previously stationed. INTENSIFIED DETENTION CAMPAIGN The report said that in the past year, China had significantly intensified its campaign of mass detention of members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang. It said authorities there were reported to have arbitrarily detained from 800,000 to possibly more than two million Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs and other Muslims in camps with the aim of erasing religious and ethnic identities. Pompeo said the Iranian government had killed more than 20 people and arrested thousands without due process for protesting for their rights "continuing a pattern of cruelty the regime has inflicted on the Iranian people for the last four decades." In South Sudan, he said, military forces had inflicted sexual violence against civilians based on their political allegiances and ethnicity, while in Nicaragua, peaceful protesters had faced sniper fire and government critics had "faced a policy of exile, jail or death." The report also revised its usual description of the Golan Heights from "Israeli-occupied" to "Israeli-controlled." A separate section on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, areas that Israel captured along with the Golan Heights in a 1967 war in the Middle East, also did not refer to those territories as being "occupied," or under "occupation." In Myanmar, the report said press freedom had declined and journalists had reported that self-censorship had became more pronounced because of the trial and conviction of Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who were jailed for seven years after being convicted in September of breaking a colonial-era official secrets law. The reporters had been working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Muslim men and boys by security forces and Buddhist civilians in Myanmar`s Rakhine State. Responding to the US report, Amnesty International criticized the Trump administration for engaging with governments, including that of Saudi Arabia, "regardless of their human rights record, if doing so will advance US interests." The State Department report highlighted Saudi Arabia`s killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and said it had not provided a detailed explanation of the direction or progress of the investigation. A CIA assessment and a Senate resolution have blamed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for ordering the killing, something Saudi officials deny, but President Donald Trump has said Washington will remain a "steadfast partner" of Saudi Arabia even though the prince may have known about the plan. Republican and Democratic US senators said this month they were frustrated with the Trump administration`s failure to provide more information about the case and vowed to push for a stronger response.

US says China's treatment of Muslim minority worst abuses 'since the 1930s'

Western forces are trying to use Christianity to influence China's society and even subvert the government, a senior official said, warning that Chinese Christians needed to follow a Chinese model of the religion.

China's constitution guarantees religious freedom, but since President Xi Jinping took office six years ago, the government has <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/china-at-war-with-faith-us-envoy-defends-remark-202606">tightened restrictions on religions</a> seen as a challenge to the authority of the ruling Communist Party.

The government has cracked down on underground churches, both Protestant and Catholic, even as it seeks to improve relations with the Vatican.

In a speech on Monday, Xu Xiaohong head of the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China said there were many problems with Christianity in the country, including "infiltration" from abroad and "private meeting places".&nbsp;

"It must be recognised that our movement`s surname is `China` and not `Western`," Xu said, according to remarks reported by the United Front Work Department, which is in charge of co-opting non-communists, ethnic minorities and religious groups.&nbsp;

"Anti-China forces in the West are trying to continue to influence China`s social stability and even subvert our country`s political power through Christianity, and it is doomed to fail," he said, speaking to the Chinese parliament`s largely ceremonial advisory body.

"For individual black sheep who, under the banner of Christianity, participate in subverting national security, we firmly support the country to bring them to justice."

Only by eliminating the "stigma of foreign religion" in China`s Christianity can its believers benefit society, he added.

"Only by continually drawing on the fine traditions of Chinese culture, can China`s Christianity be rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese culture and become a religion recognised by the Chinese themselves," Xu added.

"Only by continuously carrying forward and practicing the core values of socialism can our Christianity truly be suited to socialist society."

Western forces are trying to use Christianity to influence China's society and even subvert the government, a senior official said, warning that Chinese Christians needed to follow a Chinese model of the religion.

Western forces are trying to use Christianity to influence China's society and even subvert the government, a senior official said, warning that Chinese Christians needed to follow a Chinese model of the religion. China's constitution guarantees religious freedom, but since President Xi Jinping took office six years ago, the government has tightened restrictions on religions seen as a challenge to the authority of the ruling Communist Party. The government has cracked down on underground churches, both Protestant and Catholic, even as it seeks to improve relations with the Vatican. In a speech on Monday, Xu Xiaohong head of the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China said there were many problems with Christianity in the country, including "infiltration" from abroad and "private meeting places". "It must be recognised that our movement`s surname is `China` and not `Western`," Xu said, according to remarks reported by the United Front Work Department, which is in charge of co-opting non-communists, ethnic minorities and religious groups. "Anti-China forces in the West are trying to continue to influence China`s social stability and even subvert our country`s political power through Christianity, and it is doomed to fail," he said, speaking to the Chinese parliament`s largely ceremonial advisory body. "For individual black sheep who, under the banner of Christianity, participate in subverting national security, we firmly support the country to bring them to justice." Only by eliminating the "stigma of foreign religion" in China`s Christianity can its believers benefit society, he added. "Only by continually drawing on the fine traditions of Chinese culture, can China`s Christianity be rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese culture and become a religion recognised by the Chinese themselves," Xu added. "Only by continuously carrying forward and practicing the core values of socialism can our Christianity truly be suited to socialist society."

China official says West using Christianity to undermine country

A police raid on a Kazakh group documenting the plight of Kazakhs and Uyghurs caught in a brutal crackdown in China’s north-western province of Xinjiang is more than a government seeking to please Beijing in the hope that it improves a lot of its ethnic kin while preserving diplomatic and economic relations.

Amid suspicions that the raid on the offices of Atajurt Eriktileri and the arrest of activist Serikjhan Bilash was carried out as a result of Chinese pressure aimed at squashing criticism of the crackdown, the raid seemingly reflects an increasingly aggressive Chinese effort to impose its will on others and ensure that they observe the respect and deference that China believes it deserves.

Atajurt Eriktileri supports relatives of people who have disappeared in Xinjiang and says it has documented more than 10,000 cases of ethnic Kazakhs interned in China.

Police on Sunday sealed the group’s office in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, seized the group’s computers and archives and flew Bilash, who said he was being accused of “inciting ethnic hatred, to the Kazakh capital of Astana.

The East Turkistan Awakening Movement, a Washington-based Uyghur exile group, said Bilash had been arrested on charges of "Creating tensions between #Kazakhstan and #China."

The Kazakh police raid is but the latest incident pointing to China’s more aggressive form of diplomacy that includes an increasing number of undiplomatic comments by Chinese diplomats across the globe.

At times, those comments are couched in civilizational terms steeped in what political scientist Zhang Weiwei describes as the rise of the civilizational state under President Xi Jinping.

Describing the trend towards a civilizational state that involves a rejection of Western concepts, including notions of human rights and freedom of religion, Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman noted that China was not alone in its embrace of the idea as an alternative to the traditional concept of a nation-state based on national borders and language. Rahman suggested that the concept was also gaining currency in countries like India and Russia.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi defended his diplomat’s more outspoken statements by pointing to China’s need to stand up for its “rightful and lawful interests.” Wang insisted that China would not tolerate infringements of its sovereignty and national dignity.

“Chinese diplomats, wherever we are in the world, will firmly state our position,” Wang told journalists this weekend covering the National People’s Congress.

Former senior Singapore diplomat Bilahari Kausikan noted that “China does not just want its new status recognised as a geopolitical fact; China wants its new status accepted as a new norm of East Asian international relations; a hierarchy with China at the apex. Most countries accept the geopolitical fact; few accept the norm.”

Examples of China’s more aggressive attitude abound while the Kazakh raid suggests that China’s concepts of deference and respect amount to far more than traditional notions of respect. They also provide a potential insight into the values and norms that in China’s view would undergird a new world order.

China’s notion of deference was put on display last September at the Pacific Islands Forum when Beijing’s ambassador to Fiji, Du Qiwen, allegedly demanded the right to speak before Tuvalu prime minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga. The forum’s host, Nauru president Baron Waqa accused the Chinese envoy of being “insolent” and a “bully.”

Both Nauru and Tuvalu, to China’s chagrin, maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

Similarly, Papua New Guinea police were called after Chinese officials allegedly tried to force their way into the office of the country’s foreign minister in a bid to influence the final communique of last November’s Asia Pacific summit.

The summit ended without a final statement because of disagreements between the United States and China. Chinese officials dismissed the report of them having attempted to gain access to the foreign minister’s office as “a rumour spread by some people with a hidden agenda."

In an Op-ed in The Hill Times, an Ottawa-based newspaper, Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to Canada, described as “Western egotism and white supremacy” demands that China releases two Canadian nationals arrested in China.

The two Canadians are being held in apparent retaliation for the detention in Canada at the behest of the United States on charges of having misled banks about the company’s business dealings with Iran.

A series of incidents in the wake of a visit to Sweden last September by the Dalai Lama involving Chinese tourists and a satirical Swedish television show that poked fun at Chinese visitors and excluded Taiwan and parts of Tibet from a map of China drew the ire of the Chinese embassy in Stockholm.

The embassy denounced Swedish police as “inhumane,” decried “so-called freedom of expression,” charged that the TV show “advocate(s) racism and xenophobia outright, and openly provoke(s) and instigate(s) racial hatred and confrontation,” and issued a safety alert to Chinese tourists because of multiple cases of theft and robbery and poor treatment by Swedish police.

In line with Wang’s justification of his diplomats’ more undiplomatic approach, Brookings fellow Ryan Hass told Bloomberg that the envoys were “matching the mood of the moment in Beijing… Some in Beijing also seem to be growing frustrated that China’s rising national power is not yet translating into the types of deference from others that it seeks.”

The raid in Kazakhstan, like earlier cases such as Egypt’s return at China’s request in 2017 of up to 200 Uyghur students to an uncertain future in the People’s Republic, suggests that Beijing maintains an intrusive, far-reaching definition of its concept of deference and respect.

Kazakh activists charged that the raid was indicative of the kind of pressure applied by China. “Our government doesn’t want to spoil relations between Kazakhstan and China,” said Atajurt’s lawyer, Aiman Umarova.

There was no independent confirmation of assertions that Chinese pressure prompted the raid.

In a video statement, Bilash confirmed that he was Kazakh police custody and had not been detained “by either the Chinese or Chinese spies”.

Bilash’s wife, Leila Adilzhan, said she was "afraid our government will give him to China."

That may be one step too far for the Kazakh government given mounting anti-Chinese summit among Kazakhs and public demands that Kazakhstan is more forceful in its standing up to China for the rights of Kazakh nationals and Chinese citizens of Kazakh descent. Kazakhs constitute the second largest minority in Xinjiang after Uyghurs. 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.) 
&nbsp;

A police raid on a Kazakh group documenting the plight of Kazakhs and Uyghurs caught in a brutal crackdown in China’s north-western province of Xinjiang is more than a government seeking to please Beijing in the hope that it improves a lot of its ethnic kin while preserving diplomatic and economic relations.

A police raid on a Kazakh group documenting the plight of Kazakhs and Uyghurs caught in a brutal crackdown in China’s north-western province of Xinjiang is more than a government seeking to please Beijing in the hope that it improves a lot of its ethnic kin while preserving diplomatic and economic relations. Amid suspicions that the raid on the offices of Atajurt Eriktileri and the arrest of activist Serikjhan Bilash was carried out as a result of Chinese pressure aimed at squashing criticism of the crackdown, the raid seemingly reflects an increasingly aggressive Chinese effort to impose its will on others and ensure that they observe the respect and deference that China believes it deserves. Atajurt Eriktileri supports relatives of people who have disappeared in Xinjiang and says it has documented more than 10,000 cases of ethnic Kazakhs interned in China. Police on Sunday sealed the group’s office in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, seized the group’s computers and archives and flew Bilash, who said he was being accused of “inciting ethnic hatred, to the Kazakh capital of Astana. The East Turkistan Awakening Movement, a Washington-based Uyghur exile group, said Bilash had been arrested on charges of "Creating tensions between #Kazakhstan and #China." The Kazakh police raid is but the latest incident pointing to China’s more aggressive form of diplomacy that includes an increasing number of undiplomatic comments by Chinese diplomats across the globe. At times, those comments are couched in civilizational terms steeped in what political scientist Zhang Weiwei describes as the rise of the civilizational state under President Xi Jinping. Describing the trend towards a civilizational state that involves a rejection of Western concepts, including notions of human rights and freedom of religion, Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman noted that China was not alone in its embrace of the idea as an alternative to the traditional concept of a nation-state based on national borders and language. Rahman suggested that the concept was also gaining currency in countries like India and Russia. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi defended his diplomat’s more outspoken statements by pointing to China’s need to stand up for its “rightful and lawful interests.” Wang insisted that China would not tolerate infringements of its sovereignty and national dignity. “Chinese diplomats, wherever we are in the world, will firmly state our position,” Wang told journalists this weekend covering the National People’s Congress. Former senior Singapore diplomat Bilahari Kausikan noted that “China does not just want its new status recognised as a geopolitical fact; China wants its new status accepted as a new norm of East Asian international relations; a hierarchy with China at the apex. Most countries accept the geopolitical fact; few accept the norm.” Examples of China’s more aggressive attitude abound while the Kazakh raid suggests that China’s concepts of deference and respect amount to far more than traditional notions of respect. They also provide a potential insight into the values and norms that in China’s view would undergird a new world order. China’s notion of deference was put on display last September at the Pacific Islands Forum when Beijing’s ambassador to Fiji, Du Qiwen, allegedly demanded the right to speak before Tuvalu prime minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga. The forum’s host, Nauru president Baron Waqa accused the Chinese envoy of being “insolent” and a “bully.” Both Nauru and Tuvalu, to China’s chagrin, maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Similarly, Papua New Guinea police were called after Chinese officials allegedly tried to force their way into the office of the country’s foreign minister in a bid to influence the final communique of last November’s Asia Pacific summit. The summit ended without a final statement because of disagreements between the United States and China. Chinese officials dismissed the report of them having attempted to gain access to the foreign minister’s office as “a rumour spread by some people with a hidden agenda." In an Op-ed in The Hill Times, an Ottawa-based newspaper, Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to Canada, described as “Western egotism and white supremacy” demands that China releases two Canadian nationals arrested in China. The two Canadians are being held in apparent retaliation for the detention in Canada at the behest of the United States on charges of having misled banks about the company’s business dealings with Iran. A series of incidents in the wake of a visit to Sweden last September by the Dalai Lama involving Chinese tourists and a satirical Swedish television show that poked fun at Chinese visitors and excluded Taiwan and parts of Tibet from a map of China drew the ire of the Chinese embassy in Stockholm. The embassy denounced Swedish police as “inhumane,” decried “so-called freedom of expression,” charged that the TV show “advocate(s) racism and xenophobia outright, and openly provoke(s) and instigate(s) racial hatred and confrontation,” and issued a safety alert to Chinese tourists because of multiple cases of theft and robbery and poor treatment by Swedish police. In line with Wang’s justification of his diplomats’ more undiplomatic approach, Brookings fellow Ryan Hass told Bloomberg that the envoys were “matching the mood of the moment in Beijing… Some in Beijing also seem to be growing frustrated that China’s rising national power is not yet translating into the types of deference from others that it seeks.” The raid in Kazakhstan, like earlier cases such as Egypt’s return at China’s request in 2017 of up to 200 Uyghur students to an uncertain future in the People’s Republic, suggests that Beijing maintains an intrusive, far-reaching definition of its concept of deference and respect. Kazakh activists charged that the raid was indicative of the kind of pressure applied by China. “Our government doesn’t want to spoil relations between Kazakhstan and China,” said Atajurt’s lawyer, Aiman Umarova. There was no independent confirmation of assertions that Chinese pressure prompted the raid. In a video statement, Bilash confirmed that he was Kazakh police custody and had not been detained “by either the Chinese or Chinese spies”. Bilash’s wife, Leila Adilzhan, said she was "afraid our government will give him to China." That may be one step too far for the Kazakh government given mounting anti-Chinese summit among Kazakhs and public demands that Kazakhstan is more forceful in its standing up to China for the rights of Kazakh nationals and Chinese citizens of Kazakh descent. Kazakhs constitute the second largest minority in Xinjiang after Uyghurs. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

The Kazakh window into China's crackdown on Muslims

The Kazakh government, in defense of Kazakh and by implication Central Asian behind-closed-doors diplomacy towards China in the face of mounting domestic pressure, has offered a rare public account of its ability to improve conditions for its ethnic kin caught in a crackdown on Turkic Muslims in the north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang.

Kazakhstan’s detailing of its ability to reduce the number of Kazakhs among the reported one million Turkic Muslims incarcerated in re-education camps comes amid a significant expansion of what amounts to the most frontal assault on Islam in recent history.

Kazakh transparency is balanced by the government’s efforts to limit civil society pressure on the governments of both Kazakhstan and China to rollback Chinese efforts to severely restrict religious freedoms and alter the practice of the faith in Xinjiang and elsewhere in the country.

The crackdown that China says has helped it counter militancy and separatism in Xinjiang puts on the spot not only central Asian nations with their ethnic and cultural links to Xinjiang but also Muslim and Arab countries.

In the most recent development, Chinese authorities have removed public Islamic and Arab symbols in Xinjiang as well as the neighbouring province of Gansu, home to non-Turkic Hui Muslims, a community that long prided itself of having adopted a form of Islam that had ‘Chinese characteristics.’

The moves, part of what China has termed an anti-halalisation campaign, threatens to put out of business small entrepreneurs like butchers and restaurant owners that cater to a Muslim community that adheres to Muslim dietary and personal lifestyle laws.

The moves suggest that the crackdown is about more than alleged Uyghur militancy and separatism.

By providing a degree of transparency, the Kazakh government is not only defending itself against domestic criticism but also providing a justification for the Muslim wall of silence that has been only breached intermittently.

On a visit to Beijing last month, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took that justification to its extreme by seemingly endorsing the crackdown with his statement that China had the right to undertake "anti-terrorism" and "de-extremism" measures.

Addressing parliament this week, Kazakh foreign minister Beibut Atamkulov said the government’s quiet diplomacy had ensured that the “number of Kazakhs in these (re-education) camps decreased by 80 percent.”

It remained unclear whether Atamkulov was referring to Kazakh and dual nationals or also Chinese nationals of Kazakh descent, he said that China had last year detained 33 dual nationals, 23 of whom were returned to Kazakhstan, suggesting that he was not speaking about the vast majority of Kazakh ethnic kin who have been detained and only have Chinese nationality.

Numbering approximately 1.5 million&nbsp;ethnic Kazakhs are the second largest ethnic minority in Xinjiang after Uyghurs.

The minister said the government had received more than 1,000 enquiries about people reportedly detained in China and was “working on these issues case by case.”

Atamkulov’s ministry announced in January that China agreed to allow some 2,000 ethnic Kazakhs to renounce their Chinese citizenship and leave the country.

It was not clear whether the Chinese decision applied to former re-education camp inmates or only Chinese nationals of Kazakh descent who qualify for Kazakhstan’s existing repatriation program.

A former re-education camp employee, Sayragul Sauytbay, who fled to Kazakhstan told a Kazakh court last year that she was aware of some 7,5000 Kazakh nationals and Chinese of Kazakh descent being incarcerated.

Atajurt Eriktileri, a Kazakh group that supports relatives of people who have disappeared in Xinjiang, says it has documented more than 10,000 cases of ethnic Kazakhs interned in China. The Xinjiang Victims Database says it has collected some 3,000 testimonies of prisoners and their families, half of which are from ethnic Kazakhs.

Gulzira Auelkhan, a 39-year-old Chinese citizen of Kazakh descent who spent 15 months in two re-education facilities before being transferred to work at a glove factory for a far below minimum wage, credits her husband’s lobbying of the Kazakh government on her behalf and publicizing of her plight for her release and ability to join him in Kazakhstan.

Eager not to provoke the Chinese, Atamkulov was careful not to criticise the crackdown. He acknowledged, however, that “There are questions regarding people of Islamic faith” but insisted that China has its own internal policy."

Kazakh policy appears to demonstrate the ability of quiet diplomacy to achieve at best-limited results. The government’s figures suggest that it is able to intervene only in cases of Kazakh nationals, a small fraction of Kazakhstan’s ethnic kin caught up in the Chinese crackdown.

By responding to cases of Kazakh nationals, China enables the Kazakh government to maintain its public silence in the hope that the government can manage mounting domestic pressure and hold steadfast.

That could prove to be a risky bet.

Auelkhan is living proof of the risk. She was warned when released that her relatives who remain in Xinjiang, two daughters and her elderly parents, would suffer consequences if she chose to speak out once she was in Kazakhstan.

“I know how awful these camps are, and I want the world to know about them. In Kazakhstan, I can speak about this, so I am doing it on behalf of those still trapped in Xinjiang,” she says defiantly. 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The Kazakh government, in defense of Kazakh and by implication Central Asian behind-closed-doors diplomacy towards China in the face of mounting domestic pressure, has offered a rare public account of its ability to improve conditions for its ethnic kin caught in a crackdown on Turkic Muslims in the north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang.

The Kazakh government, in defense of Kazakh and by implication Central Asian behind-closed-doors diplomacy towards China in the face of mounting domestic pressure, has offered a rare public account of its ability to improve conditions for its ethnic kin caught in a crackdown on Turkic Muslims in the north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang. Kazakhstan’s detailing of its ability to reduce the number of Kazakhs among the reported one million Turkic Muslims incarcerated in re-education camps comes amid a significant expansion of what amounts to the most frontal assault on Islam in recent history. Kazakh transparency is balanced by the government’s efforts to limit civil society pressure on the governments of both Kazakhstan and China to rollback Chinese efforts to severely restrict religious freedoms and alter the practice of the faith in Xinjiang and elsewhere in the country. The crackdown that China says has helped it counter militancy and separatism in Xinjiang puts on the spot not only central Asian nations with their ethnic and cultural links to Xinjiang but also Muslim and Arab countries. In the most recent development, Chinese authorities have removed public Islamic and Arab symbols in Xinjiang as well as the neighbouring province of Gansu, home to non-Turkic Hui Muslims, a community that long prided itself of having adopted a form of Islam that had ‘Chinese characteristics.’ The moves, part of what China has termed an anti-halalisation campaign, threatens to put out of business small entrepreneurs like butchers and restaurant owners that cater to a Muslim community that adheres to Muslim dietary and personal lifestyle laws. The moves suggest that the crackdown is about more than alleged Uyghur militancy and separatism. By providing a degree of transparency, the Kazakh government is not only defending itself against domestic criticism but also providing a justification for the Muslim wall of silence that has been only breached intermittently. On a visit to Beijing last month, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took that justification to its extreme by seemingly endorsing the crackdown with his statement that China had the right to undertake "anti-terrorism" and "de-extremism" measures. Addressing parliament this week, Kazakh foreign minister Beibut Atamkulov said the government’s quiet diplomacy had ensured that the “number of Kazakhs in these (re-education) camps decreased by 80 percent.” It remained unclear whether Atamkulov was referring to Kazakh and dual nationals or also Chinese nationals of Kazakh descent, he said that China had last year detained 33 dual nationals, 23 of whom were returned to Kazakhstan, suggesting that he was not speaking about the vast majority of Kazakh ethnic kin who have been detained and only have Chinese nationality. Numbering approximately 1.5 million ethnic Kazakhs are the second largest ethnic minority in Xinjiang after Uyghurs. The minister said the government had received more than 1,000 enquiries about people reportedly detained in China and was “working on these issues case by case.” Atamkulov’s ministry announced in January that China agreed to allow some 2,000 ethnic Kazakhs to renounce their Chinese citizenship and leave the country. It was not clear whether the Chinese decision applied to former re-education camp inmates or only Chinese nationals of Kazakh descent who qualify for Kazakhstan’s existing repatriation program. A former re-education camp employee, Sayragul Sauytbay, who fled to Kazakhstan told a Kazakh court last year that she was aware of some 7,5000 Kazakh nationals and Chinese of Kazakh descent being incarcerated. Atajurt Eriktileri, a Kazakh group that supports relatives of people who have disappeared in Xinjiang, says it has documented more than 10,000 cases of ethnic Kazakhs interned in China. The Xinjiang Victims Database says it has collected some 3,000 testimonies of prisoners and their families, half of which are from ethnic Kazakhs. Gulzira Auelkhan, a 39-year-old Chinese citizen of Kazakh descent who spent 15 months in two re-education facilities before being transferred to work at a glove factory for a far below minimum wage, credits her husband’s lobbying of the Kazakh government on her behalf and publicizing of her plight for her release and ability to join him in Kazakhstan. Eager not to provoke the Chinese, Atamkulov was careful not to criticise the crackdown. He acknowledged, however, that “There are questions regarding people of Islamic faith” but insisted that China has its own internal policy." Kazakh policy appears to demonstrate the ability of quiet diplomacy to achieve at best-limited results. The government’s figures suggest that it is able to intervene only in cases of Kazakh nationals, a small fraction of Kazakhstan’s ethnic kin caught up in the Chinese crackdown. By responding to cases of Kazakh nationals, China enables the Kazakh government to maintain its public silence in the hope that the government can manage mounting domestic pressure and hold steadfast. That could prove to be a risky bet. Auelkhan is living proof of the risk. She was warned when released that her relatives who remain in Xinjiang, two daughters and her elderly parents, would suffer consequences if she chose to speak out once she was in Kazakhstan. “I know how awful these camps are, and I want the world to know about them. In Kazakhstan, I can speak about this, so I am doing it on behalf of those still trapped in Xinjiang,” she says defiantly. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Kazakhstan comes to the rescue of its nationals caught in a crackdown on Muslims in China

UN investigator seeks visit to China's Xinjiang region

A Turkish-Chinese spat as a result of Turkish criticism of China’s crackdown on Turkic Muslims in its strategic but troubled north-western province of Xinjiang complicates efforts by Kazakhstan and other Central Asian states to at best deal quietly behind closed doors with the plight of their citizens and ethnic kin in the People’s Republic.

China’s threat that the Turkish criticism of its massive surveillance and detention campaign, involving the alleged incarceration in re-education camps of up to one million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims would have economic consequences and the temporary closure of the Chinese consulate in the Mediterranean port city of Izmir serves as warnings to others in the Muslim world what could happen if they break their silence.

The Chinese effort to get the Muslim and broader international community to maintain silence, if not acquiesce in the crackdown that constitutes the most frontal assault on Islam in recent history, was boosted when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a visit to Beijing last month appeared to endorse Chinese policy.

Prince Salman’s endorsement of China's right to undertake "anti-terrorism" and "de-extremism" measures was widely seen as tacit support for the crackdown by the custodian of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

China has denied allegations of widespread abuse of human rights and insisted that the camps are re-education and training facilities that have stopped attacks by Islamist militants and separatists.

The Crown Prince’s remarks contrasted starkly with the characterisation last month of the crackdown by Turkey’s foreign ministry &nbsp;as an “embarrassment to humanity,” the ministry demanded that Chinese authorities respect the human rights of the Uyghurs and close what it termed “concentration camps.”&nbsp;

Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called twice last week on China to make a distinction between perpetrators of political violence and innocent civilians while insisting that Turkey wished to continue cooperation with the People’s Republic.

“The fact that we have a problem with China on an issue should not necessarily hinder our cooperation on other matters,” Cavusoglu said.

Turkey is hoping that Chinese investment in nuclear, e-commerce, finance, and infrastructure will narrow its gaping trade deficit with China that last year stood at $17.8 billion.

That is not how China appeared to envision its future relationship with Turkey.

“There may be disagreements or misunderstandings between friends, but we should solve them through dialogue. Criticising your friend publicly everywhere is not a constructive approach,” said Chinese ambassador to Turkey Deng Li.

“The most important issue between countries is mutual respect. Would you stay friends if your friend criticized you publicly every day?” Deng asked.

“If you choose a non-constructive path, it will negatively affect mutual trust and understanding and will be reflected in commercial and economic relations,” Deng added.

Deng’s comments were not only designed to whip Turkey back into line but also to prevent Central Asian nations from speaking out despite mounting domestic pressure.

Deng’s comments reflected greater Chinese intolerance for criticism of its crackdown amid attempts to convince the international community by taking diplomats and journalists on carefully managed tours of Xinjiang that one participant called a “dog and pony show.”

The ambassador’s rings particularly loud in Kazakhstan whose ethnic kin constitute the second largest Muslim community in Xinjiang after the Uyghurs.

A former re-education camp employee, Sayragul Sauytbay, who fled to Kazakhstan told a Kazakh court last year that she was aware of some 7,5000 Kazakh nationals and Chinese of Kazakh descent being incarcerated.

Atajurt Eriktileri, a Kazakh group that supports relatives of people who have disappeared in Xinjiang, says it has documented more than 10,000 cases of ethnic Kazakhs interned in China. The Xinjiang Victims Database says it has collected some 3,000 testimonies of prisoners and their families, half of which are from ethnic Kazakhs.

Askar Azatbek, a former Xinjiang official who became a Kazakh citizen, went missing in December after allegedly having been kidnapped while on the Kazakh side of Khorgos, a free-trade zone on the border with China.

So has Qalymbek Shahman an ethnic Kazakh Xinjiang businessman who was refused entry into Kazakhstan, sent to Uzbekistan and disappeared in Thailand to where he was returned by Uzbek authorities. Shahman hasn’t been heard from since.

"I wanted to go to Kazakhstan because China's human rights record was making life intolerable," Shahman said in a videotape from Tashkent airport before being forced to fly to Thailand, which has a track record of complying with Chinese repatriation requests.

For now, Central Asian leaders are walking a tightrope. Officially, they insist that Xinjiang is a Chinese internal affair. At the same time, the leaders are trying to curb domestic criticism.

Serikzhan Bilash, the head of Atajurt Eriktileri, was fined in February by an Almaty court for operating an unregistered organisation.

Sauytbay has fired her lawyer after he became unreachable at key moments in her asylum application and encouraged her to not talk about it publicly. “I don’t want to talk…until I have some kind of protection. I’d prefer that protection to come from Kazakhstan, but I might need help from other countries,” Sautbay said.

Sauytbay is certain to hope that Turkey’s willingness to confront China, if maintained, makes Central Asia’s tightrope act increasingly risky, particularly in an environment in which public criticism of the crackdown, anti-Chinese sentiment and social and economic discontent are meshing.

 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

A Turkish-Chinese spat as a result of Turkish criticism of China’s crackdown on Turkic Muslims in its strategic but troubled north-western province of Xinjiang complicates efforts by Kazakhstan and other Central Asian states to at best deal quietly behind closed doors with the plight of their citizens and ethnic kin in the People’s Republic.

A Turkish-Chinese spat as a result of Turkish criticism of China’s crackdown on Turkic Muslims in its strategic but troubled north-western province of Xinjiang complicates efforts by Kazakhstan and other Central Asian states to at best deal quietly behind closed doors with the plight of their citizens and ethnic kin in the People’s Republic. China’s threat that the Turkish criticism of its massive surveillance and detention campaign, involving the alleged incarceration in re-education camps of up to one million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims would have economic consequences and the temporary closure of the Chinese consulate in the Mediterranean port city of Izmir serves as warnings to others in the Muslim world what could happen if they break their silence. The Chinese effort to get the Muslim and broader international community to maintain silence, if not acquiesce in the crackdown that constitutes the most frontal assault on Islam in recent history, was boosted when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a visit to Beijing last month appeared to endorse Chinese policy. Prince Salman’s endorsement of China's right to undertake "anti-terrorism" and "de-extremism" measures was widely seen as tacit support for the crackdown by the custodian of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. China has denied allegations of widespread abuse of human rights and insisted that the camps are re-education and training facilities that have stopped attacks by Islamist militants and separatists. The Crown Prince’s remarks contrasted starkly with the characterisation last month of the crackdown by Turkey’s foreign ministry as an “embarrassment to humanity,” the ministry demanded that Chinese authorities respect the human rights of the Uyghurs and close what it termed “concentration camps.” Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called twice last week on China to make a distinction between perpetrators of political violence and innocent civilians while insisting that Turkey wished to continue cooperation with the People’s Republic. “The fact that we have a problem with China on an issue should not necessarily hinder our cooperation on other matters,” Cavusoglu said. Turkey is hoping that Chinese investment in nuclear, e-commerce, finance, and infrastructure will narrow its gaping trade deficit with China that last year stood at $17.8 billion. That is not how China appeared to envision its future relationship with Turkey. “There may be disagreements or misunderstandings between friends, but we should solve them through dialogue. Criticising your friend publicly everywhere is not a constructive approach,” said Chinese ambassador to Turkey Deng Li. “The most important issue between countries is mutual respect. Would you stay friends if your friend criticized you publicly every day?” Deng asked. “If you choose a non-constructive path, it will negatively affect mutual trust and understanding and will be reflected in commercial and economic relations,” Deng added. Deng’s comments were not only designed to whip Turkey back into line but also to prevent Central Asian nations from speaking out despite mounting domestic pressure. Deng’s comments reflected greater Chinese intolerance for criticism of its crackdown amid attempts to convince the international community by taking diplomats and journalists on carefully managed tours of Xinjiang that one participant called a “dog and pony show.” The ambassador’s rings particularly loud in Kazakhstan whose ethnic kin constitute the second largest Muslim community in Xinjiang after the Uyghurs. A former re-education camp employee, Sayragul Sauytbay, who fled to Kazakhstan told a Kazakh court last year that she was aware of some 7,5000 Kazakh nationals and Chinese of Kazakh descent being incarcerated. Atajurt Eriktileri, a Kazakh group that supports relatives of people who have disappeared in Xinjiang, says it has documented more than 10,000 cases of ethnic Kazakhs interned in China. The Xinjiang Victims Database says it has collected some 3,000 testimonies of prisoners and their families, half of which are from ethnic Kazakhs. Askar Azatbek, a former Xinjiang official who became a Kazakh citizen, went missing in December after allegedly having been kidnapped while on the Kazakh side of Khorgos, a free-trade zone on the border with China. So has Qalymbek Shahman an ethnic Kazakh Xinjiang businessman who was refused entry into Kazakhstan, sent to Uzbekistan and disappeared in Thailand to where he was returned by Uzbek authorities. Shahman hasn’t been heard from since. "I wanted to go to Kazakhstan because China's human rights record was making life intolerable," Shahman said in a videotape from Tashkent airport before being forced to fly to Thailand, which has a track record of complying with Chinese repatriation requests. For now, Central Asian leaders are walking a tightrope. Officially, they insist that Xinjiang is a Chinese internal affair. At the same time, the leaders are trying to curb domestic criticism. Serikzhan Bilash, the head of Atajurt Eriktileri, was fined in February by an Almaty court for operating an unregistered organisation. Sauytbay has fired her lawyer after he became unreachable at key moments in her asylum application and encouraged her to not talk about it publicly. “I don’t want to talk…until I have some kind of protection. I’d prefer that protection to come from Kazakhstan, but I might need help from other countries,” Sautbay said. Sauytbay is certain to hope that Turkey’s willingness to confront China, if maintained, makes Central Asia’s tightrope act increasingly risky, particularly in an environment in which public criticism of the crackdown, anti-Chinese sentiment and social and economic discontent are meshing. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

Turkish-Chinese spat puts Asian leaders on the spot

Representatives of foreign political parties hailed the latest progress in the implementation of China's ethnic policy and appreciated the efforts made by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in promoting economic development and ethnic unity in northwest China' Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region after they wrapped up a two-day tour in the region.

The representatives were invited to Xinjiang to attend a thematic meeting on China's ethnic policy and the promotion of unity and solidarity among ethnic groups under the theme of "Practice and Achievements in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region", which offered them an opportunity to fully understand the CPC's work in enhancing ethnic unity, seeking a common development for people of all ethnic groups, and promoting opening-up and cooperation in the region.

The representatives visited local enterprises for international cooperation of the Belt and Road Initiative, mosques as well as an Islamic institute before attending the thematic meeting.

Many said they were impressed by the progress the local people have made economically, ethnically and culturally.

"Every time you have new, huge construction, new, huge work opportunities, so this hints to a great economic development and I find that impressive. As far as I can judge, from outside of course, there seems to be harmony between the people, there seems to be a revolutionary unity between the two people,"said Ismail Yunus Soner, vice president, Turkish VATAN Party Department of International Relations.

"In two days, we visited some local enterprises. Through the visit, I saw the friendship between the ethnic groups and the profound friendship between comrades," said Alexey Leskien, first secretary, Communist Party of Samara Regional Committee.

"And we were fascinated by the diversity of the culture and the mixture of the ethnics groups. We were really impressed by the progress in last 40 years in the Republic of China, Xinjiang is naturally, has been for the century in the past and it should be in the future, the bridge between China and central Asia," said Mohammad Amin Karim, senior political board member, Afghanistan Hezb-e Islami Party.

Representatives of foreign political parties hailed the latest progress in the implementation of China's ethnic policy and appreciated the efforts made by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in promoting economic development and ethnic unity in northwest China' Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region after they wrapped up a two-day tour in the region.

Representatives of foreign political parties hailed the latest progress in the implementation of China's ethnic policy and appreciated the efforts made by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in promoting economic development and ethnic unity in northwest China' Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region after they wrapped up a two-day tour in the region. The representatives were invited to Xinjiang to attend a thematic meeting on China's ethnic policy and the promotion of unity and solidarity among ethnic groups under the theme of "Practice and Achievements in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region", which offered them an opportunity to fully understand the CPC's work in enhancing ethnic unity, seeking a common development for people of all ethnic groups, and promoting opening-up and cooperation in the region. The representatives visited local enterprises for international cooperation of the Belt and Road Initiative, mosques as well as an Islamic institute before attending the thematic meeting. Many said they were impressed by the progress the local people have made economically, ethnically and culturally. "Every time you have new, huge construction, new, huge work opportunities, so this hints to a great economic development and I find that impressive. As far as I can judge, from outside of course, there seems to be harmony between the people, there seems to be a revolutionary unity between the two people,"said Ismail Yunus Soner, vice president, Turkish VATAN Party Department of International Relations. "In two days, we visited some local enterprises. Through the visit, I saw the friendship between the ethnic groups and the profound friendship between comrades," said Alexey Leskien, first secretary, Communist Party of Samara Regional Committee. "And we were fascinated by the diversity of the culture and the mixture of the ethnics groups. We were really impressed by the progress in last 40 years in the Republic of China, Xinjiang is naturally, has been for the century in the past and it should be in the future, the bridge between China and central Asia," said Mohammad Amin Karim, senior political board member, Afghanistan Hezb-e Islami Party.

Representatives of foreign political parties praise China's ethnic policy

Turkey on Saturday condemned China's treatment of its Muslim ethnic Uighur people as "<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistanis-distressed-as-uighur-wives-vanish-in-china-dragnet-36992">a great embarrassment for humanity</a>," adding to rights groups' recent criticism over mass detentions of the Turkic-speaking minority.

"The systematic assimilation policy of Chinese authorities towards Uighur Turks is a great embarrassment for humanity," Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement.

The northwest Xinjiang region of China, where most Uighurs live, has been under heavy police surveillance in recent years, after violent inter-ethnic tensions.

Nearly one million Uighurs and other Turkic language-speaking minorities in China have reportedly been held in re-education camps, according to a UN panel of experts.

Beijing says the "vocational education centres" help people steer clear of terrorism and allow them to be reintegrated into society.

But critics say China is seeking to assimilate Xinjiang's minority population and suppress religious and cultural practices that conflict with Communist ideology and the dominant Han culture.

"It is no longer a secret that more than one million Uighur Turks, -- who are exposed to arbitrary arrests -- are subjected to torture and political brainwashing in concentration centres and prisons," Aksoy said in the Turkish foreign ministry statement.&nbsp;

"Uighurs who are not detained in the camps are also under great pressure," he added.&nbsp;

Turkey called on the international community and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres "to take effective steps to end the human tragedy in Xinjiang region."

Most mainly Muslim countries have not been vocal on the issue, not criticising the government in China which is an important trading partner.

Aksoy also said Turkey had learned of the "tragic" death in custody Saturday of Uighur poet and musician Abdurehim Heyit.&nbsp;

"We've learned with great sorrow that dignified poet Abdurehim Heyit, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for his compositions, died in the second year of his imprisonment," he said.&nbsp;

"This tragic incident has further strengthened the Turkish public's reaction to the serious human rights violations in Xinjiang Region."

Turkey on Saturday condemned China's treatment of its Muslim ethnic Uighur people as "a great embarrassment for humanity," adding to rights groups' recent criticism over mass detentions of the Turkic-speaking minority.

Turkey on Saturday condemned China's treatment of its Muslim ethnic Uighur people as "a great embarrassment for humanity," adding to rights groups' recent criticism over mass detentions of the Turkic-speaking minority. "The systematic assimilation policy of Chinese authorities towards Uighur Turks is a great embarrassment for humanity," Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement. The northwest Xinjiang region of China, where most Uighurs live, has been under heavy police surveillance in recent years, after violent inter-ethnic tensions. Nearly one million Uighurs and other Turkic language-speaking minorities in China have reportedly been held in re-education camps, according to a UN panel of experts. Beijing says the "vocational education centres" help people steer clear of terrorism and allow them to be reintegrated into society. But critics say China is seeking to assimilate Xinjiang's minority population and suppress religious and cultural practices that conflict with Communist ideology and the dominant Han culture. "It is no longer a secret that more than one million Uighur Turks, -- who are exposed to arbitrary arrests -- are subjected to torture and political brainwashing in concentration centres and prisons," Aksoy said in the Turkish foreign ministry statement. "Uighurs who are not detained in the camps are also under great pressure," he added. Turkey called on the international community and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres "to take effective steps to end the human tragedy in Xinjiang region." Most mainly Muslim countries have not been vocal on the issue, not criticising the government in China which is an important trading partner. Aksoy also said Turkey had learned of the "tragic" death in custody Saturday of Uighur poet and musician Abdurehim Heyit. "We've learned with great sorrow that dignified poet Abdurehim Heyit, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for his compositions, died in the second year of his imprisonment," he said. "This tragic incident has further strengthened the Turkish public's reaction to the serious human rights violations in Xinjiang Region."

China's treatment of Uighurs a 'great embarrassment for humanity': Turkey

China is leading the charge in a bid to undermine accepted concepts of human rights accountability and justice.

The Chinese effort backed by autocrats elsewhere has turned human rights into an underrated, yet crucial battleground in the shaping of a new world order. &nbsp;

China is manoeuvring against the backdrop of an unprecedented crackdown on Turkic Muslims in its north-western province of Xinjiang, the accelerated rollout of restrictions elsewhere in the country, and the export of key elements of its model of a 21st-century Orwellian surveillance state.

The Chinese effort, highlighted in Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2019, is multipronged.

It involves proposals to alter the principles on which the United Nations Human Rights Council operates in ways that would enable repressive, autocratic regimes.

To achieve its goal, China is employing its financial muscle and infrastructure and energy-driven Belt and Road initiative to economically entice countries that are financially strapped, desperate for investment and/or on the defensive because of human rights abuses.

China is also seeking a dominant role in various countries’ digital infrastructure and media that would allow it to influence the flow of information and enable its allies to better control dissent.

China is waging its campaign at a crucial juncture of history. It benefits from the rise of ethno- and religious nationalism, populism, intolerance and widespread anti-migration sentiment across the world’s democracies.

The campaign is enabled by the emergence of presidents like Donald J. Trump in the United States, the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hungary’s Victor Orban and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro who have either deemphasized human rights or gone as far as justifying abuses in addition to seeking to limit, if not undermine, independent media that hold them accountable.

The timing of the Chinese effort is significant because it comes at a moment that predictions of the death of popular protest, symbolized by the defeat of the initially successful 2011 popular Arab revolts, are being called into question.

Mass anti-government demonstrations in Sudan demand the resignation of President Omar al-Bashir. Anti-Chinese groups march in Kyrgyzstan while protests in Zimbabwe decry repression, poor public services, high unemployment, widespread corruption and delays in civil servants receiving their salaries. The past year has also seen widespread anti-government agitation in countries like Morocco and Jordan.

The protests and what Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth describes in his foreword to the group’s just published, 674-page World Report 2019 as “a resistance that keeps winning battles” suggests that China’s campaign may have won battles but has yet to win the war.

“Victory isn’t assured but the successes of the past year suggest that the abuses of authoritarian rule are prompting a powerful human rights counterattack,” Mr. Roth wrote.

Nonetheless, Human Rights Watch’s China director Sophie Richardson warned that “people outside China don’t yet seem to realize that their human rights are…increasingly under threat as Beijing becomes more powerful… In recent years, Beijing has…sought to extend its influence into, and impose its standards and policies on, key international human rights institutions—weakening some of the only means of accountability and justice available to people around the world,”

Ms. Richardson noted that China had last year successfully pushed a non-binding resolution in the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) that advocated promotion of human rights on the basis of the People’s Republic’s principle of win-win, a principle that cynics assert means China wins twice.

In a sign of the times, the resolution garnered significant support. The United States, in a twist of irony, was the only Council member to vote against it with countries like Germany and Australia abstaining.

China is not the only country that would like a globally accepted approach to be altered to the detriment of human rights. Muslim nations, with Saudi Arabia in the lead, have, for example, long sought to have blasphemy criminalized.

The resolution “gutted the ideas of accountability for actual human rights violations, suggesting ‘dialogue’ instead. It failed to specify any course of action when rights violators refuse to cooperate with UN experts, retaliate against rights defenders or actively reject human rights principles. And it even failed to acknowledge any role for the HRC itself to address serious human rights violations when ‘dialogue’ and ‘cooperation’ don’t produce results,” Ms. Richardson said.

“If these ideas become not just prevailing norms but also actual operating principles for the HRC, victims of state-sponsored abuses worldwide—including in Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen—will face almost impossible odds in holding abusive governments accountable,” Ms. Richardson cautioned.

In a separate interview, Ms. Richardson described the resolution as “the start of a process to wither away the UN human rights eco system.”

She said human rights groups were concerned “about what China will try to do next, whether it will more aggressively try to change the council’s mandate or nibble away at language in treaties or roll back the role of civil society. China wants inter-governmental cooperation instead of accountability, government officials discussing among themselves with no discussion of accountability for abuses and no participation of independent groups.”

China’s efforts are both an attempt to rewrite international norms and counter sharp Western criticism of its moves against Christians and Muslim and its crackdown in Xinjiang.

Up to one million Turkic Muslims have reportedly been incarcerated in re-education camps that China projects as vocational training facilities. To maintain its crackdown, China depends on a fragile silence in the Muslim world that is fraying at the edges.

In addition to attempting to change the operating principles of the UN Human Rights Commission, lobbying UN and foreign government officials to tone down criticism and invited foreign diplomats and journalists on choreographed visits to Xinjiang, China has at times successfully employed its economic and financial clout to buy either support or silence.

Pakistan, the host of the Belt and Road’s US$45 billion crown jewel, has curbed its initial criticism of the crackdown in Xinjiang.

Similarly, China is pressuring Myanmar to revive the suspended US$3.6 billion Myitsone dam project, which if built as previously designed would flood 600 square kilometres of forestland in northern Kachin state and export 90 % of the power produced to China.

China has reportedly offered in return for the dam to support Myanmar that has been condemned by the United Nations, Western countries and some Muslim nations for its repressive campaign against the Rohingya, some 700,000 of which fled to Bangladesh last year.

In a bid to pacify, criticism of its Xinjiang policy in Central Asia where anti-Chinese sentiment has been rising, China agreed this month to allow some 2,000 ethnic Kazakhs to renounce their Chinese citizenship and leave the country.

The decision follows testimony in a Kazakh court of a former employee of a re-education camp detailing three facilities in which up to 7,500 Kazaks and Chinese nationals of Kazakh descent allegedly were being held. The testimony prompted sharp criticism in parliament and on social media.

China and the West’s diametrically opposed concepts of human rights are part of a larger contest for dominance over the future of technology and global influence.

Freedom House, a Washington-based freedom watchdog, reported last year that China was exporting to at least 18 countries sophisticated surveillance systems capable of identifying threats to public order and has made it easier to repress free speech in 36 others.

“They are passing on their norms for how technology should govern society,” said Adrian Shahbaz, the author of the report.

Added Nadège Rolland, a senior fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research, a Washington think tank, speaking to Bloomberg: “There’s a 1984 component to it that’s kind of scary.”

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

China is leading the charge in a bid to undermine accepted concepts of human rights accountability and justice. The Chinese effort backed by autocrats elsewhere has turned human rights into an underrated, yet crucial battleground in the shaping of a new world order.

China is leading the charge in a bid to undermine accepted concepts of human rights accountability and justice. The Chinese effort backed by autocrats elsewhere has turned human rights into an underrated, yet crucial battleground in the shaping of a new world order. China is manoeuvring against the backdrop of an unprecedented crackdown on Turkic Muslims in its north-western province of Xinjiang, the accelerated rollout of restrictions elsewhere in the country, and the export of key elements of its model of a 21st-century Orwellian surveillance state. The Chinese effort, highlighted in Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2019, is multipronged. It involves proposals to alter the principles on which the United Nations Human Rights Council operates in ways that would enable repressive, autocratic regimes. To achieve its goal, China is employing its financial muscle and infrastructure and energy-driven Belt and Road initiative to economically entice countries that are financially strapped, desperate for investment and/or on the defensive because of human rights abuses. China is also seeking a dominant role in various countries’ digital infrastructure and media that would allow it to influence the flow of information and enable its allies to better control dissent. China is waging its campaign at a crucial juncture of history. It benefits from the rise of ethno- and religious nationalism, populism, intolerance and widespread anti-migration sentiment across the world’s democracies. The campaign is enabled by the emergence of presidents like Donald J. Trump in the United States, the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hungary’s Victor Orban and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro who have either deemphasized human rights or gone as far as justifying abuses in addition to seeking to limit, if not undermine, independent media that hold them accountable. The timing of the Chinese effort is significant because it comes at a moment that predictions of the death of popular protest, symbolized by the defeat of the initially successful 2011 popular Arab revolts, are being called into question. Mass anti-government demonstrations in Sudan demand the resignation of President Omar al-Bashir. Anti-Chinese groups march in Kyrgyzstan while protests in Zimbabwe decry repression, poor public services, high unemployment, widespread corruption and delays in civil servants receiving their salaries. The past year has also seen widespread anti-government agitation in countries like Morocco and Jordan. The protests and what Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth describes in his foreword to the group’s just published, 674-page World Report 2019 as “a resistance that keeps winning battles” suggests that China’s campaign may have won battles but has yet to win the war. “Victory isn’t assured but the successes of the past year suggest that the abuses of authoritarian rule are prompting a powerful human rights counterattack,” Mr. Roth wrote. Nonetheless, Human Rights Watch’s China director Sophie Richardson warned that “people outside China don’t yet seem to realize that their human rights are…increasingly under threat as Beijing becomes more powerful… In recent years, Beijing has…sought to extend its influence into, and impose its standards and policies on, key international human rights institutions—weakening some of the only means of accountability and justice available to people around the world,” Ms. Richardson noted that China had last year successfully pushed a non-binding resolution in the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) that advocated promotion of human rights on the basis of the People’s Republic’s principle of win-win, a principle that cynics assert means China wins twice. In a sign of the times, the resolution garnered significant support. The United States, in a twist of irony, was the only Council member to vote against it with countries like Germany and Australia abstaining. China is not the only country that would like a globally accepted approach to be altered to the detriment of human rights. Muslim nations, with Saudi Arabia in the lead, have, for example, long sought to have blasphemy criminalized. The resolution “gutted the ideas of accountability for actual human rights violations, suggesting ‘dialogue’ instead. It failed to specify any course of action when rights violators refuse to cooperate with UN experts, retaliate against rights defenders or actively reject human rights principles. And it even failed to acknowledge any role for the HRC itself to address serious human rights violations when ‘dialogue’ and ‘cooperation’ don’t produce results,” Ms. Richardson said. “If these ideas become not just prevailing norms but also actual operating principles for the HRC, victims of state-sponsored abuses worldwide—including in Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen—will face almost impossible odds in holding abusive governments accountable,” Ms. Richardson cautioned. In a separate interview, Ms. Richardson described the resolution as “the start of a process to wither away the UN human rights eco system.” She said human rights groups were concerned “about what China will try to do next, whether it will more aggressively try to change the council’s mandate or nibble away at language in treaties or roll back the role of civil society. China wants inter-governmental cooperation instead of accountability, government officials discussing among themselves with no discussion of accountability for abuses and no participation of independent groups.” China’s efforts are both an attempt to rewrite international norms and counter sharp Western criticism of its moves against Christians and Muslim and its crackdown in Xinjiang. Up to one million Turkic Muslims have reportedly been incarcerated in re-education camps that China projects as vocational training facilities. To maintain its crackdown, China depends on a fragile silence in the Muslim world that is fraying at the edges. In addition to attempting to change the operating principles of the UN Human Rights Commission, lobbying UN and foreign government officials to tone down criticism and invited foreign diplomats and journalists on choreographed visits to Xinjiang, China has at times successfully employed its economic and financial clout to buy either support or silence. Pakistan, the host of the Belt and Road’s US$45 billion crown jewel, has curbed its initial criticism of the crackdown in Xinjiang. Similarly, China is pressuring Myanmar to revive the suspended US$3.6 billion Myitsone dam project, which if built as previously designed would flood 600 square kilometres of forestland in northern Kachin state and export 90 % of the power produced to China. China has reportedly offered in return for the dam to support Myanmar that has been condemned by the United Nations, Western countries and some Muslim nations for its repressive campaign against the Rohingya, some 700,000 of which fled to Bangladesh last year. In a bid to pacify, criticism of its Xinjiang policy in Central Asia where anti-Chinese sentiment has been rising, China agreed this month to allow some 2,000 ethnic Kazakhs to renounce their Chinese citizenship and leave the country. The decision follows testimony in a Kazakh court of a former employee of a re-education camp detailing three facilities in which up to 7,500 Kazaks and Chinese nationals of Kazakh descent allegedly were being held. The testimony prompted sharp criticism in parliament and on social media. China and the West’s diametrically opposed concepts of human rights are part of a larger contest for dominance over the future of technology and global influence. Freedom House, a Washington-based freedom watchdog, reported last year that China was exporting to at least 18 countries sophisticated surveillance systems capable of identifying threats to public order and has made it easier to repress free speech in 36 others. “They are passing on their norms for how technology should govern society,” said Adrian Shahbaz, the author of the report. Added Nadège Rolland, a senior fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research, a Washington think tank, speaking to Bloomberg: “There’s a 1984 component to it that’s kind of scary.” (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Shaping the new world order: The battle for human rights

China's foreign ministry said that would allow UN officials to visit Xinjiang "if they follow the proper procedures" amid reports of suppression of the local population in the area.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang made the comments in Beijing.

Last year a United Nations human rights panel had said it had received credible reports that one million ethnic Uighurs in China were held in what resembled a "massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy."

China had said camps were&nbsp;"vocational training centres" to bolster economic growth in the region.

The Xinjiang region has been the focus of renewed attention amid reports of Bejing's "deradicalisation" plan in the mostly Muslim dominated Turkic Uighurs. In 2009, Xinjiang had experienced riots which was quelled by local authorities.

China maintains that Xinjiang faces a serious threat from Islamist militants.

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers had called for sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for alleged human rights abuses against in Xinjiang region.

Human Rights Watch had said that Uighur Muslims face arbitrary detentions, daily restrictions on religious practice and "forced political indoctrination".

The rights body&nbsp;accused China of forbidding Islamic greetings in the region and making Mandarin language mandatory which included singing propaganda songs.

Punishments for refusing to follow instructions in the camp could mean being denied food, being forced to stand for 24 hours or even solitary confinement, it had said in its report. China refuted the allegation.

Last week the US had issued a &nbsp;"Level 2" warning over extra security checks and increased police presence in the Xinjiang and Tibet Autonomous Regions.

China's foreign ministry said that would allow UN officials to visit Xinjiang "if they follow the proper procedures" amid reports of suppression of the local population in the area.

China's foreign ministry said that would allow UN officials to visit Xinjiang "if they follow the proper procedures" amid reports of suppression of the local population in the area. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang made the comments in Beijing. Last year a United Nations human rights panel had said it had received credible reports that one million ethnic Uighurs in China were held in what resembled a "massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy." China had said camps were "vocational training centres" to bolster economic growth in the region. The Xinjiang region has been the focus of renewed attention amid reports of Bejing's "deradicalisation" plan in the mostly Muslim dominated Turkic Uighurs. In 2009, Xinjiang had experienced riots which was quelled by local authorities. China maintains that Xinjiang faces a serious threat from Islamist militants. A bipartisan group of US lawmakers had called for sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for alleged human rights abuses against in Xinjiang region. Human Rights Watch had said that Uighur Muslims face arbitrary detentions, daily restrictions on religious practice and "forced political indoctrination". The rights body accused China of forbidding Islamic greetings in the region and making Mandarin language mandatory which included singing propaganda songs. Punishments for refusing to follow instructions in the camp could mean being denied food, being forced to stand for 24 hours or even solitary confinement, it had said in its report. China refuted the allegation. Last week the US had issued a "Level 2" warning over extra security checks and increased police presence in the Xinjiang and Tibet Autonomous Regions.

Ready to allow UN officials in Xinjiang 'if they follow proper procedure': China

A blast at a chemical plant in China's northwestern Xinjiang autonomous region has killed three people and severely injured six, the official Tianshan news website reported on Wednesday.

The explosion occurred when Xinjiang Xinzhi Energy Chemicals Co tested a rotary lime kiln on Tuesday afternoon, the report said.

The deadly accident comes about one month after a gas leak at a plant owned by a ChemChina subsidiary caused a blast that killed 23 people in the eastern Hebei province.&nbsp;

Public anger in China over safety standards has grown in recent years after three decades of swift economic growth that have been marred by accidents ranging from mining disasters to factory fires.

China has vowed to improve industrial standards, but environmentalists say they fear oversight weaknesses persist, including an opaque production process for hazardous chemicals.

A blast at a chemical plant in China's northwestern Xinjiang autonomous region has killed three people and severely injured six, the official Tianshan news website reported on Wednesday.

A blast at a chemical plant in China's northwestern Xinjiang autonomous region has killed three people and severely injured six, the official Tianshan news website reported on Wednesday. The explosion occurred when Xinjiang Xinzhi Energy Chemicals Co tested a rotary lime kiln on Tuesday afternoon, the report said. The deadly accident comes about one month after a gas leak at a plant owned by a ChemChina subsidiary caused a blast that killed 23 people in the eastern Hebei province. Public anger in China over safety standards has grown in recent years after three decades of swift economic growth that have been marred by accidents ranging from mining disasters to factory fires. China has vowed to improve industrial standards, but environmentalists say they fear oversight weaknesses persist, including an opaque production process for hazardous chemicals.

Blast at chemical plant in China's Xinjiang kills three: Report

A disagreement between major Indonesian religious leaders and the government on how to respond to China’s crackdown on Turkic Muslims raises questions about the Islamic World’s ability to sustain its silence about what amounts to one of the most concerted assaults on the faith in recent history.

Rejecting a call on the government by the Indonesian Ulema Council, the country’s top clerical body, to condemn the crackdown that has seen up to one million Turkic Muslims detained in re-education camps in China’s north-western province of Xinjiang, Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla insisted that the government would not interfere in the internal affairs of others.

The disagreement could take on greater significance after elections in April next year which incumbent president Joko Widodo is expected to win Widodo’s vice-presidential running mate, Maruf Amin, is the ulema’s council’s chairman. Since joining the presidential ticket, Amin has retained his council position as non-active chairman.

Nonetheless, eager to attract Chinese infrastructure investment, Kalla’s position is in line with a majority of Muslim countries, who have opted to remain silent in a bid not to jeopardise relations with the People’s Republic even if many of them have responded angrily to far less threatening incidents such as the condemnation of British writer Salman Rushdie for his novel, The Satanic Verses; the cartoon depiction in Denmark of the Prophet Mohammed; and the burning of a Quran by an American pastor.

In a similar vein, Mushahid Hussain, chairman of Pakistan’s Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, said the cardinal principle of Pakistan-China relations was to refrain from commenting on anything to do with another other country’s domestic issues even though some 200 small Pakistani businessmen have been campaigning for the release of their Uyghur spouses from Chinese camps and either the &nbsp;lifting of travel bans on their children or being allowed to visit them.

&nbsp;“Given the relationship of Pakistan with China, and in the Muslim world, in particular, the Chinese narrative is apparently being accepted across the board as the one that is correct,” Hussain told Associated Press.

By the same token, Turkey with its ethnic and cultural links to China’s Turkic Muslims and past support for Uyghur aspirations has adopted a similar attitude as Chinese investment and financial aid expands.

With the exception of a few protests in Bangladesh and India and critical statements by Malaysian leaders, Muslims across the globe have largely refrained from pressuring their governments to speak out about developments in Xinjiang. If anything, China retains its status of Asia’s top tourism destination for Muslim travellers.

Nabeel Shariff, the founder of UK-based halal holiday company Serendipity Tailormade, struggled with the ethical aspects of promoting Muslim tourism to China, but concluded that “In a way, it makes sure the Uygur community are not forgotten.”

Shariff’s justification notwithstanding, there is little public evidence of the plight of China’s Turkic Muslims being in the Muslim public eye. Muslim and Chinese leaders appear to be betting that the silence is sustainable. That threatens to be a risky strategy.

For one, the crackdown in Xinjiang is expanding to the Hui, China’s non-Turkic Muslims. The autonomous region of Ningxia Hui recently signed a cooperation agreement on anti-terrorism with Xinjiang in a bid to learn from the crackdown on the Turkic Muslims or in the words of the Global Times, a Communist Party organ, “to learn from Xinjiang's experiences in promoting social stability.”

Mounting Western criticism of the crackdown, that is toughest on Muslims, but also targets other religious groups, including evangelists, puts Muslim nations on the spot. The criticism is likely to lead to Western companies boycotting products made in Xinjiang by inmates of the re-education camps, which China describes as institutions for vocational training or people who were recently released but forced to work in factories associated with the crackdown.

An Associated Press investigation published this week tracked the shipment of sportswear from a factory linked to the camps to Badger Sportswear in the United States that supplies university bookshops and sports teams around the country. “We will voluntarily halt sourcing and will move production elsewhere while we investigate the matters raised,” said Badger CEO John Anton.

New Jersey Republican Congressman Chris Smith, a member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, called on the Trump Administration to ban imports from Chinese companies associated with detention camps.

A potential black swan is an anti-Chinese sentiment in a number of Muslim countries, some of which have ethnic links to China’s Turkic Muslims, as a result of perceptions of Chinese commercial terms for project finance and loans associated with the People’s Republic’s infrastructure-driven Belt and Road initiative that are perceived to be debt traps.

In an illustration of the risk, Kunaysh Sultanov, a member of the Kazakh parliament and former deputy prime minister and ambassador to China, took issue with the government’s walking a tightrope, attempting to balance its relations with its need to stand up for the rights of Kazaks.

“There should be talks taking place with the Chinese delegates. Every delegation that goes there should be bringing this topic up… The key issue is that of the human rights of ethnic Kazakhs in any country of the world being respected,” Sultanov said after a Chinese camp worker of Kazakh descent who had escaped to the Central Asian republic testified in court about what she had witnessed. 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

A disagreement between major Indonesian religious leaders and the government on how to respond to China’s crackdown on Turkic Muslims raises questions about the Islamic World’s ability to sustain its silence about what amounts to one of the most concerted assaults on the faith in recent history.

A disagreement between major Indonesian religious leaders and the government on how to respond to China’s crackdown on Turkic Muslims raises questions about the Islamic World’s ability to sustain its silence about what amounts to one of the most concerted assaults on the faith in recent history. Rejecting a call on the government by the Indonesian Ulema Council, the country’s top clerical body, to condemn the crackdown that has seen up to one million Turkic Muslims detained in re-education camps in China’s north-western province of Xinjiang, Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla insisted that the government would not interfere in the internal affairs of others. The disagreement could take on greater significance after elections in April next year which incumbent president Joko Widodo is expected to win Widodo’s vice-presidential running mate, Maruf Amin, is the ulema’s council’s chairman. Since joining the presidential ticket, Amin has retained his council position as non-active chairman. Nonetheless, eager to attract Chinese infrastructure investment, Kalla’s position is in line with a majority of Muslim countries, who have opted to remain silent in a bid not to jeopardise relations with the People’s Republic even if many of them have responded angrily to far less threatening incidents such as the condemnation of British writer Salman Rushdie for his novel, The Satanic Verses; the cartoon depiction in Denmark of the Prophet Mohammed; and the burning of a Quran by an American pastor. In a similar vein, Mushahid Hussain, chairman of Pakistan’s Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, said the cardinal principle of Pakistan-China relations was to refrain from commenting on anything to do with another other country’s domestic issues even though some 200 small Pakistani businessmen have been campaigning for the release of their Uyghur spouses from Chinese camps and either the lifting of travel bans on their children or being allowed to visit them. “Given the relationship of Pakistan with China, and in the Muslim world, in particular, the Chinese narrative is apparently being accepted across the board as the one that is correct,” Hussain told Associated Press. By the same token, Turkey with its ethnic and cultural links to China’s Turkic Muslims and past support for Uyghur aspirations has adopted a similar attitude as Chinese investment and financial aid expands. With the exception of a few protests in Bangladesh and India and critical statements by Malaysian leaders, Muslims across the globe have largely refrained from pressuring their governments to speak out about developments in Xinjiang. If anything, China retains its status of Asia’s top tourism destination for Muslim travellers. Nabeel Shariff, the founder of UK-based halal holiday company Serendipity Tailormade, struggled with the ethical aspects of promoting Muslim tourism to China, but concluded that “In a way, it makes sure the Uygur community are not forgotten.” Shariff’s justification notwithstanding, there is little public evidence of the plight of China’s Turkic Muslims being in the Muslim public eye. Muslim and Chinese leaders appear to be betting that the silence is sustainable. That threatens to be a risky strategy. For one, the crackdown in Xinjiang is expanding to the Hui, China’s non-Turkic Muslims. The autonomous region of Ningxia Hui recently signed a cooperation agreement on anti-terrorism with Xinjiang in a bid to learn from the crackdown on the Turkic Muslims or in the words of the Global Times, a Communist Party organ, “to learn from Xinjiang's experiences in promoting social stability.” Mounting Western criticism of the crackdown, that is toughest on Muslims, but also targets other religious groups, including evangelists, puts Muslim nations on the spot. The criticism is likely to lead to Western companies boycotting products made in Xinjiang by inmates of the re-education camps, which China describes as institutions for vocational training or people who were recently released but forced to work in factories associated with the crackdown. An Associated Press investigation published this week tracked the shipment of sportswear from a factory linked to the camps to Badger Sportswear in the United States that supplies university bookshops and sports teams around the country. “We will voluntarily halt sourcing and will move production elsewhere while we investigate the matters raised,” said Badger CEO John Anton. New Jersey Republican Congressman Chris Smith, a member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, called on the Trump Administration to ban imports from Chinese companies associated with detention camps. A potential black swan is an anti-Chinese sentiment in a number of Muslim countries, some of which have ethnic links to China’s Turkic Muslims, as a result of perceptions of Chinese commercial terms for project finance and loans associated with the People’s Republic’s infrastructure-driven Belt and Road initiative that are perceived to be debt traps. In an illustration of the risk, Kunaysh Sultanov, a member of the Kazakh parliament and former deputy prime minister and ambassador to China, took issue with the government’s walking a tightrope, attempting to balance its relations with its need to stand up for the rights of Kazaks. “There should be talks taking place with the Chinese delegates. Every delegation that goes there should be bringing this topic up… The key issue is that of the human rights of ethnic Kazakhs in any country of the world being respected,” Sultanov said after a Chinese camp worker of Kazakh descent who had escaped to the Central Asian republic testified in court about what she had witnessed. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Xinjiang crackdown: China and the Islamic world’s Achilles Heel

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