The US government has declared that China’s repression of the Uighur is ‘genocide’ and ‘crimes against humanity.'
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, with just one day left of Donald Trump’s administration, attacked the Chinese government’s use of mass internment, forced sterilisation, and the forced labour of more than 1 million members of the Muslim minority.
The US has become the first country to use the terms to describe the human rights abuses in the country’s northwest Xinjiang region and is the harshest criticism yet of any government.
”I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uighur by the Chinese party-state,” said Mr Pompeo in a statement.
“After careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that since at least March 2017, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), under the direction and control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has committed crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uighur and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang.”
The Trump administration’s determination matches that of president-elect Joe Biden who said last year that the Chinese policy against the Uighur was “genocide.”
Mr Biden’s administration could now impose more sanctions against China after he takes office on Wednesday.
