The U.S. State Department issued a statement Saturday (March 27) condemning the Chinese Communist Party‘s counter-sanctions against two U.S. religious affairs officials and warning that the move will only contribute to a greater international backlash.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a formal statement Saturday condemning the Chinese Communist Party’s unwarranted sanctions against two members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), noting that the move was apparently in retaliation for the U.S. sanctioning Chinese officials in connection with human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
The statement recalled two previous sanctions imposed by the Chinese Communist Party on U.S. officials, one of which was in July 2020 and included sanctions against U.S. officials and organizations that promote democracy and human rights.
The statement warned, “Beijing‘s attempts to intimidate and silence those who speak out for human rights and fundamental freedoms will only contribute to increasing international scrutiny of the ongoing genocide and Crimes Against Humanity in Xinjiang. We stand with Canada, the UK, the EU and other partners and allies around the world in calling on China to stop violating and trampling on the human rights of members of the predominantly Muslim Uighur and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang and to release those who are being arbitrarily detained.”
Later that day, Blinken also tweeted a brief statement reiterating his condemnation of the Chinese Communist government’s sanctions against U.S. officials and warning again that “Beijing’s attempts to silence criticism of serious human rights violations in Xinjiang will only prompt increasing international scrutiny.”
Last week, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada almost simultaneously imposed sanctions on Chinese Communist Party officials and individual institutions to punish them for persecuting human rights in Xinjiang. In retaliation, Beijing subsequently announced counter-sanctions that involved officials from all of these countries.
Human rights activists and UN human rights experts say the CCP is holding at least one million Uighurs in concentration camps in Xinjiang. Witnesses, their friends and Family members have also revealed that the regime tortures, forces labor, and even removes organs alive from Uighurs and other dissidents, and forcibly sterilizes Uighur women.
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