DM Monitoring
WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday that would apply sanctions against senior Chinese officials, triggering a furious response from Beijing.
The legislation adds to tensions between the two superpowers just as they are locked in negotiations to finalise a “phase one” deal to resolve their protracted trade war.
Washington had already angered Beijing when President Donald Trump signed legislation supporting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, prompting Beijing earlier this week to impose sanctions on US NGOs and suspend future visits by US warships to the semi-autonomous city.
The Uighur Act of 2019 condemns Beijing’s “gross human rights violations” linked to the crackdown in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where upwards of one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are believed to be held in re-education camps. The measure, which passed 407 to 1, is a stronger version of the bill that cleared the Senate in September. The two versions must be reconciled into one bill that gets sent to Trump’s desk.
The latest House measure condemns the arbitrary mass detention of Uighurs and calls for closure of the re-education camps where according to rights groups and US lawmakers they have been held and abused.
The bill notably urges Trump to slap sanctions on Chinese officials behind the Uighur policy, including Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party chief for Xinjiang.
“Today the human dignity and human rights of the Uighur community are under threat from Beijing’s barbarous actions, which are an outrage to the collective conscience of the world,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told her colleagues shortly before the vote. Congress “is taking a critical step to counter Beijing’s horrific human rights abuses against Uighurs,” she said.
“America is watching.” Pelosi lashed out at Chinese authorities for orchestrating a repressive crackdown that includes pervasive mass state surveillance, solitary confinement, beatings, forced sterilisation “and other forms of torture.”
Beijing called on the United States to prevent the bill from becoming law and warned without elaborating that it would respond “according to the development of the situation.”
The bill “deliberately denigrates China’s human rights situation in Xinjiang, wantonly smears China’s efforts to eliminate extremism and combat terrorism (and) viciously attacks the Chinese government’s policy of governing Xinjiang,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement.
US move is absurd, says DM Chief
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Editor-in-Chief and President of The Daily Mail, Makhdoom Babar has said that the US move of passing a so called H.R bill on Uyghur is an absolutely absurd move as US had no right by any means to interfere into any internal matter of any sovereign state.
Giving his views over the issue while speaking in a live program on China Radio International here on Wednesday, he said that it was utterly disgusting that the U.S was keeping mum on the mega HR violation by Indian government in occupied Kashmir which were constantly reported by not only the world media but also by Indian media itself. However, on the other side, it was raising storm in a cup of tea for fake H.R abuses in Xinjiang while there was no media evidences or any other proof for it.
‘It is a clear reflection of fake propagation and distortion of facts while at the same time, it reflects crystal clearly the dichotomy and double standards of the Trump administration.
On the other side, they are showing their utmost discomfort for the so-called plight of Muslims of Xinjiang while on the other side, they are completely unmoved by internationally reported miseries of the Muslims of occupied Kashmir on the hands of Indian Army and Indian Security Forces. It makes it crystal clear that by no means, the U.S government is worried about Muslims but is using Xinjiang card to twist China’s arm where actually Muslims are having a wonderful lives with fortune, happiness and prosperity,’ asserted Makhdoom.
He further said during the last 11 months nearly 1 thousand representatives of international bodies including media, H.S watchdogs and government organizations and all of them give positive feedback on Xinjiang situation.
Makhdoom said that a few months back, none else but the Foreign Ministerial Council of the OIC itself passed a resolution to comment China for it’s amazing policies to facilitate Muslims in Xinjiang and across China.
Beijing hits back on US move
From Our Correspondent
BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying on Wednesday expressed China’s strong indignation over and firm opposition to the passing of a bill on Xinjiang-related issues by the US House of Representatives. The so-called “Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019” deliberately smears the human rights condition in Xinjiang, slanders China’s efforts in de-radicalization and counter-terrorism and viciously attacks the Chinese government’s Xinjiang policy. It seriously violates international law and basic norms governing international relations and grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs. China is strongly indignant at and firmly opposed to it, Hua said.
“Xinjiang-related issues are not about human rights, ethnicity or religion, but about fighting violence, terrorism and separatism,” said the spokesperson.
She said Xinjiang suffered gravely from extremism, violence and terrorism. Faced with severe circumstances, the government of Xinjiang Autonomous Region lawfully fought violent and terrorist crimes while addressing the root causes.
Xinjiang hasn’t seen a single terrorist attack over the past three years. Those endeavors are endorsed by all 25 million people of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang, according to the spokesperson.
