U.S. Secretary of State Video Meets with Uighurs and Offers Birthday Wishes to Dalai Lama

Secretary of State John Blinken met Tuesday (July 6) by Web video with Uighur Muslims who have been imprisoned in China’s Xinjiang region to hear from them about their experiences and to consult on how best to pressure China to stop the crackdown in Xinjiang. State Department officials warned that the United States may impose new sanctions. On the same day, Blinken also wished a birthday to the exiled Tibetan spiritual Dalai Lama.

The State Department said Blinken wanted to hear directly from the seven former detainees, relatives of other detainees and advocates about their situation and the situation facing the broader Uighur community, according to the Associated Press.

“The secretary of state thought it was important to meet with these individuals to hear firsthand about their experiences, to hear firsthand their impressions of the atrocities that are taking place in Xinjiang and the detention of a million Uighurs,” said State Department spokesman Price. “In addition, it’s an opportunity for these participants to make any suggestions they might have.”

China has come under heavy international criticism and sanctions for detaining more than a million Uighurs and other minorities for political re-education.

While there are significant differences between the Biden and Trump administrations, Price said the meeting showed the continuity of U.S. government policy.

Both administrations have called the Chinese government’s actions in Xinjiang a “genocide” and have sanctioned China for human rights violations. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with former Uighur detainees several times during his tenure as chief U.S. diplomat.

“The United States has spoken out very clearly and consistently about these abuses, the atrocities, the genocide that is taking place in Xinjiang,” Price said. “And, when we think it’s appropriate, I think, we will use additional tools going forward to hold those officials responsible for what’s happening there.”

Since the Trump administration, the U.S. has been steadily increasing pressure against China in a range of areas, particularly in response to China’s crackdown in Xinjiang and its suppression of political dissent and human rights in Hong Kong. The actions taken by the U.S. include a travel ban, financial sanctions and commercial restrictions targeting Chinese exports to the United States.

On Tuesday, Secretary Blinken also said on his Twitter account that he extended birthday wishes to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

He said, “It is a pleasure to extend warm wishes to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his birthday. He inspires us all to live each day in humility, compassion and understanding. May long life be wished.”

The Dalai Lama celebrated his 86th birthday Tuesday in the northern Indian city of Dharamsala.

The Dalai Lama has lived in Dharamsala since 1959, when he was forced to flee Tibet into India after a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule. In 1989, the Tibetan spiritual leader was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In a rare move, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Twitter that he had just spoken to the Dalai Lama on the phone to congratulate him on his happy birthday.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen also took to Facebook on Tuesday to congratulate the Dalai Lama on his happy birthday.