The U.S. has named Wang Junzheng, the secretary of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Party Committee, and Chen Mingguo, director of the Xinjiang Public Safety Bureau. “These individuals are designated under Executive Order (EO) 13818, which builds on and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets offenders of serious human rights abuses and corruption,” the treasury said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the Chinese campaign against Uyghurs as genocide.
“Amid growing international condemnation, the PRC continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” Blinken said in a statement abbreviating the People’s Republic of China. “The United States reiterates its call on the VRC to end the repression of Uyghurs, who are predominantly Muslim, and members of other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang, including by all those detained voluntarily in detention camps and detention facilities. to be released. “
“Solidarity”
Blinken stressed last week that the US also expressed the concerns of allies, and indicated that Washington will also act in cooperation with them in the future, an approach that, according to US officials, is more effective than targeting China one-on-one.
On Monday, he said that the US “took this action” today in solidarity with our partners in the UK, Canada and the European Union … These actions demonstrate our continued commitment to working multilaterally to promote and shine respect for human rights a light on those in the VRC government and CCP who are responsible for these atrocities. ”
The Treasury Department said in a statement that ‘complementary actions using these global human rights sanction regimes promote the people of people who have a united front to identify access to the international financial system and the access to the disrupt the international financial system. ‘
The US also on Monday announced a second set of coordinated sanctions with the European Union, to sanction the military officials of Myanmar and two military units for their violent suppression of democratic protests there.
The European Union on Monday announced its sanctions, appointing Zhu Hailun, former head of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), and three other officials in charge of the detention and indoctrination program targeting Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities. in Xinjiang. according to the Official Journal of the European Union.
China responded almost immediately with criminal penalties and on Monday announced sanctions against ten EU politicians and four entities for ‘maliciously spreading lies and disinformation’. They will be banned from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, while their related companies and institutions will not be able to do business with China.
European Parliament President David Sassoli said on Monday that China’s sanctions against MPs, the Human Rights Subcommittee and EU bodies were “unacceptable and would have consequences”.
“Human rights are inalienable rights,” Sassoli said.
The EU has said that Zhu Hailun has been described as the “architect” of this Uyghur indoctrination program, and that he is therefore responsible for serious human rights violations in China, in particular the large-scale arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and people of other Muslim ethnic minorities. . . “
The sanctions were the first time the EU targeted China with its Human Rights sanctions regime, which went into effect in December 2020 and was first used over the poisoning of Alexei Navalny.
‘Grossly disturbing’
In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, China accused the EU of “disregarding and distorting the facts” and “grossly interfering in China’s domestic affairs” by imposing sanctions on its officials.
The Chinese individuals listed by the EU are now subject to a freeze on assets and will be banned from traveling to the EU. The sanctions also prevent any EU person and entity from making funds available, directly or indirectly, to those listed here.
The EU said Zhu Hailun “is responsible for maintaining internal security and law enforcement in the XUAR. As such, he holds a key political position overseeing the oversight and implementation of a large-scale oversight, detention and indoctrination program” “targeting Uyghurs and people from other countries. Muslim ethnic minorities.”
Zhu is the former secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Political and Legal Commission (XUAR), former deputy secretary of the XUAR party committee, and former deputy head of the local legislature, according to the Official Journal of the European Union.
Three other Xinjiang officials were approved: Wang; Deputy Secretary of the XUAR Party Committee, Wang Mingshan; and Chen Mingguo, director of the Xinjiang Bureau of Public Safety.
Apart from the European ten politicians, China also approved four institutions, including the Political and Security Committee of the Council of the European Union, the Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament, the Mercator Institute for China Studies and the Alliance of Democracies Foundation.
“The Chinese government is determined to protect national sovereignty, security and development interests,” the statement said. “The Chinese side encourages the EU side to reflect on itself, face the seriousness of its mistake and correct it. It must stop teaching others about human rights and interfere in their internal affairs. ”