Uyghur

US imposes sanctions on Thai officials after Uyghur men deported to China

The US State Department on Friday announced sanctions on an unknown number of current and former Thai officials for their role in deporting at least 40 Uyghur men to China despite worries that they could be jailed or even face death there. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was immediately moving to impose visa restrictions on current and former officials responsible for or complicit in the deportations. No Thai official has been named. The visa restrictions were not explained but can entail a denial of entry to the US. We are committed to combating China's efforts to pressure governments to forcibly return Uyghurs and other groups to China, where they are subject to torture and enforced disappearances, Rubio said in a statement. The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday said it had multiple times clarified with countries that have conveyed their concerns over the safety of the men that China assured that they would be unharmed, and that Thailand would follow up on their

US bans imports from 37 Chinese companies for human rights abuses in Uyghur

The US has banned Huafu Fashion Co, a leading global textile manufacturer, and 25 of its subsidiaries, alleging their involvement in forced labour practices within China's cotton industry

Amid human rights concerns, Volkswagen to exit China's Xinjiang plant

Amid allegations of Uyghur rights abuses, Volkswagen and SAIC will sell their Xinjiang plant and testing tracks in Turpan and Shanghai's Anting to SMVIC

'China expanding its crackdown on mosques to regions outside Xinjiang'

The Chinese government has expanded its campaign of closing mosques to regions other than Xinjiang, where for years it has been blamed for persecuting Muslim minorities, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday. Authorities have closed mosques in the northern Ningxia region as well as Gansu province, which are home to large populations of Hui Muslims, as part of a process known officially as consolidation, according to the report, which draws on public documents, satellite images and witness testimonies. Local authorities also have been removing architectural features of mosques to make them look more Chinese," part of a campaign by the ruling Communist Party to tighten control over religion and reduce the risk of possible challenges to its rule. President Xi Jinping in 2016 called for the Sinicization of religions, initiating a crackdown that has largely concentrated on the western region of Xinjiang, home to more than 11 million Uyghurs and other Muslim ...

Chinese govt sentences famed Uyghur scholar to life in prison: Foundation

A prominent Uyghur scholar specialising in the study of her people's folklore and traditions has been sentenced to life in prison, according to a US-based foundation that works on human rights cases in China. Rahile Dawut was convicted on charges of endangering state security in December 2018 in a secret trial, the San Francisco-based Dui Hua Foundation said in a statement Thursday. Dawut appealed but her conviction was upheld, the foundation said. The sentencing of Professor Rahile Dawut to life in prison is a cruel tragedy, a great loss for the Uyghur people, and for all who treasure academic freedom, John Kamm, executive director of the Dui Hua Foundation, said in a statement. Dawut was a professor at Xinjiang University and founder of the school's Ethnic Minorities Folklore Research Centre. She disappeared in late 2017 amid a brutal government crackdown aimed at the Uyghurs, a Turkic, predominately Muslim ethnicity native to China's northwest Xinjiang region. For years, her ex

Google chucks away bad reviews of tracker exposing Uyghur forced labor

The Human Rights Foundation's Uyghur Forced Labor Checker had been experiencing a spate of unusual activity in recent months

Uyghurs' treatment by China make headlines as they faces heavy surveillance

China has come under growing attention in recent years for how it treats both the Buddhist population in Tibet and the Muslim Uyghur community in Xinjiang

UN rights chief opens channels of communication about issues in China

The new UN human rights chief said Tuesday that his office has opened "channels of communication" to help follow up on concerns about the rights of minorities in China, including Uyghur Muslims and Tibetans. But this fell short of activists' hopes for a stronger message to Beijing. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Trk, in an address highly anticipated by rights advocates, didn't detail how his office plans to follow up on a critical report on China's western Xinjiang region published in August by his predecessor, Michelle Bachelet. That report cited possible "crimes against humanity" against Uyghurs and others in Xinjiang. Trk noted that the UN rights office "documented grave concerns" like arbitrary detentions and family separations in China, and called for "concrete follow-up." He also voiced concerns about the impact of the national security law in Hong Kong that has suppressed its pro-democracy movement. "Regarding China, we have opened up channels of communication with

Canadian MP urges Trudeau's cabinet to make room for Uyghur refugees

Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet to support a motion to make room in its refugee intake for 10,000 Uyghur and other Turkic groups who fled China

Pak consulate brings up 'freedom' of Uyghur, Islamabad says account hacked

Hours after tweeting that Islamabad and Beijing will "work closely on matters of mutual interests including Rights & Freedom of Uyghurs community", Pakistan backtracked saying that their Twitter handle of Pakistan Consulate General Chengdu had been hacked.The tweet referred to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs being thankful to China for support to flood victims and then mentioned concerns regarding the Uyghur community."MoFA Pakistan is thankful for Chinese aid and support for flood reconstruction. We will work closely on matters of mutual interest including the Rights and Freedom of the Uyghurs community," read the tweet from the official handle of Pakistan Consulate General Chengdu on Friday.The tweet was seen as the first instance of Pakistan coming out in support of Uyghur community, a predominantly Turkic-speaking ethnic group primarily in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang which has faced "serious human rights violations" from Beijing.UN human rights report ...

UN committee calls for probe into Xinjiang Uyghur human rights violations

the Committee urged the State party to immediately cease all intimidation and reprisals against Uyghur and other ethnic Muslim communities, the diaspora and those who speak out in their defence

UK court to hear Uyghur demands to ban import of Xinjiang cotton products

A Uyghur organization and a human rights group are taking the UK government to court to challenge Britain's failure to block the import of cotton products associated with forced labour and other abuses in China's far western Xinjiang region. Tuesday's hearing at the High Court in London is believed the first time a foreign court hears legal arguments from the Uyghurs over the issue of forced labor in Xinjiang. The region is a major global supplier of cotton, but rights groups have long alleged that the cotton is picked and processed by China's Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in a widespread, state-sanctioned system of forced labour. The case, brought by the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress and the Global Legal Action Network, a nonprofit, is one of several similar legal challenges aimed at putting pressure on the U.K. and European Union governments to follow the lead of the United States, where a law took effect this year to ban all cotton products suspected of being mad

EU doesn't single out China in planned ban on forced labour goods

The proposed Forced Labour Products Ban, from the European Commission, covers goods imported from third countries as well as those made within the EU.

Uyghurs abuse: Why UN is accusing China for 'crimes against humanity'

The extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of Uyghur may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity, the UN said

China rejects UN report on Uyghur human rights violations in Xinjiang

China has denounced a long-delayed U.N. report that was released over its protest and that says the government's arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in the western region of Xinjiang may constitute crimes against humanity. Human rights groups and the Japanese government welcomed the report, which had become caught up in a tug-of-war between China and others, who were critical of the delay and lobbying for its release. The assessment released late Wednesday by the U.N. human rights office in Geneva concluded that China has committed serious human rights violations under its anti-terrorism and anti-extremism policies and calls for urgent attention from the U.N., the world community and China itself to address them. The report largely corroborates earlier reporting by researchers, advocacy groups and the news media, while carefully steering away from estimates and other findings that cannot be definitively proven. It adds the weight of the U.N. to the .

UN report on China indicates possible crimes against humanity in Xinjiang

United Nations accused China of actions that "may constitute international crimes, in particular, crimes against humanity" in Xinjiang for mass detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities

Concerned for Uyghur rights, Britain replaces Chinese survelliance systems

Concerned over Uyghur rights violations and the presence of Chinese-owned surveillance systems at the Department of Defence and police forces that has undermined national security, the British government has replaced security equipment provided by Chinese-owned tech companies at key government offices, media reports said.Other rights groups are campaigning for Hikvision and Dahua to be banned in the UK due to the companies' involvement in the Chinese state's repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China. Hikvision and Dahua cameras are used in concentration camps throughout the Uyghur region, Asian Lite reported.This comes as the British MPs alleged that the Chinese government is persecuting minorities and intruding on governmental departments and research centres worldwide. They also accused China of violating the territorial integrity of neighbouring countries.Among the Chinese companies are Hikvision and Dahua. Offices belonging to the Home Office, Department of Health & Social ...

China's Xi Jinping reaches Xinjiang, signals no change to Uyghur policy

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, on a visit this week to the Xinjiang region where his govt is widely accused of oppressing predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities, showed no signs of backing off policies

US ban on imports from China's Xinjiang over forced labour takes effect

A US law banning imports from China's Xinjiang province took effect on Tuesday, a move aimed at addressing Beijing's use of forced labour among the Uyghur minority

US should enforce law against Uyghur forced labour, says rights group

The United States government should vigorously enforce a new law that aims to prevent imports linked to forced labour by Uyghurs and other persecuted groups in China, the Human Rights Watch said