China imposes fresh sanctions on 9 U.K. officials and 4 entities
China has imposed fresh sanctions on 9 United Kingdom (U.K.) individuals and entities over accusation of human right abuses in Xinjiang, the far western region in People’s Republic of China.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that U.K is maliciously spreading lies and disinformation regarding Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims.
Earlier on March 22, 2021, European Union (E.U.), United States (U.S.), United Kingdom (U.K.) and
Canada imposed sanctions on Chinese diplomats. In response, China imposed sanctions on European lawmakers, the EU’s main foreign policy decision-making body known as the Political and Security Committee and 2 institutes.
Escalating the tussle further, China today, i.e., Friday, March 26, 2021 imposed new sanctions on 5 Members of Parliament (MPs) – Tom Tugendhat, Iain Duncan Smith, Neil O’Brien, Tim Loughton and Nusrat Ghani. It also targeted 2 Members of the House of Lords – David Alton and Helena Kennedy and Academic – Joanne Smith Finley and Barrister Geoffrey Nice.
The sanctioned people and their immediate family members are not allowed to enter Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Their property in China will be frozen, and Chinese citizens and institutions will be prohibited from doing business with them.
A statement from Chinese Foreign Ministry read, “The United Kingdom imposed unilateral sanctions on relevant Chinese individuals and entity, citing the so-called human rights issues in Xinjiang. This move, based on nothing but lies and disinformation, flagrantly breaches international law and basic norms governing international relations, grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs, and severely undermines China-UK relations.”
China has also sanctioned 4 entities – China Research Group, Conservative Party Human Rights Commission and Uyghur Tribunal and Essex Court Chambers.
The statement further read, “China is firmly determined to safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests, and warns the UK side not go further down the wrong path.”
Reacting to Chinese sanctions, the Prime Minister of U.K. – Boris Johnson said U.K. stands firmly with U.K. citizens who have been sanctioned by China.
Taking it to twitter, Johnson tweeted,
The MPs and other British citizens sanctioned by China today are performing a vital role shining a light on the gross human rights violations being perpetrated against Uyghur Muslims.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 26, 2021
Freedom to speak out in opposition to abuse is fundamental and I stand firmly with them.
The Foreign Secretary of U.K. – Dominic Raab said, “It speaks volumes that, while the UK joins the international community in sanctioning those responsible for human rights abuses, the Chinese government sanctions its critics. If Beijing want to credibly rebut claims of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, it should allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights full access to verify the truth.”
The E.U., U.K., U.S. and Canada have accused China of torturing Uyghur Muslims in detention camps, which China claims are vocational training centres. Uyghurs in Xinjiang live under a full-fledged police State with extensive controls and restrictions upon their religious, cultural and social life. They are not allowed to own books about Uyghurs, grow a beard or have a prayer rug. Besides, the Government had also installed cameras in the homes of private citizens.
Separately, relations between U.K. and China also suffered after U.K. criticized China for imposing the New Security Law in Hong Kong which led to demonstrations and public outrage. This was also criticized by the U.S. and Canada.
