Twitter locks account of China's US embassy over Xinjiang-related tweet

California, United States

Social networking platform Twitter on Thursday said that it has locked the account of China's US embassy for a tweet that defended China's policies in the Xinjiang region after it violated the firm's policy against "dehumanisation".

The Chinese Embassy account, @ChineseEmbinUS, posted a tweet this month that said that Uighur women were no longer "baby-making machines," citing a study reported by state-backed newspaper China Daily.

Later, the same article was reposted with a different caption. "Study shows the population change in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region involves the overall improvement in population quality. An increasing number of youths chose to spend more time and energy on personal development," the post by the Chinese embassy in the US reads. 

Twitter's suspension of the embassy's account came a day after the Trump administration, in its final hours, accused China of committing genocide in Xinjiang, a finding endorsed by the incoming Biden administration.

The Biden administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Twitter's move.

"We've taken action on the Tweet you referenced for violating our policy against dehumanization, where it states: We prohibit the dehumanisation of a group of people based on their religion, caste, age, disability, serious disease, national origin, race, or ethnicity," a Twitter spokesperson said on Thursday.

Also read: China sanctions Pompeo, Trump officials for violating 'sovereignty'

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a e-mailed request for comment. Twitter is blocked in China but is an increasingly favoured platform by China's diplomats and state media.

China has repeatedly rejected accusations of abuse in its Xinjiang region, where a United Nations panel has said at least 1 million Uighurs and other Muslims had been detained in camps.

Last year, a report by German researcher Adrian Zenz published by the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation think tank accused China of using forced sterilization, forced abortion and coercive family planning against minority Muslims. The Chinese foreign ministry said the allegations were groundless and false.

Twitter's move also follows the removal of the account of former U.S. president Donald Trump, which had 88 million followers, citing the risk of violence after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol this month.

Twitter had locked Trump's account, asking for deletion of some tweets, before restoring it and then removing it altogether after the former president violated the platform's policies again.