U.S. leads condemnation of China for 'horrific' repression of Muslims

By Humeyra Pamuk and David Brunnstrom

 

FILE PHOTO: Uighurs take part in a protest against China at the courtyard of Fatih Mosque, a common meeting place for pro-Islamist demonstrators in Istanbul, Turkey, December 28, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States led more than 30 countries on Tuesday in condemning what it called China's "horrific campaign of repression" against Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang at an event on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly that was denounced by China.

 

In highlighting abuses against ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims in China, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said the United Nations and its member states had "a singular responsibility to speak up when survivor after survivor recounts the horrors of state repression."

 

Sullivan said it was incumbent on U.N. member states to ensure the world body was able to closely monitor human rights abuses by China and added that it must seek "immediate, unhindered, and unmonitored" access to Xinjiang for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR).

 

Sullivan said Tuesday's event was co-sponsored by Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain, and was joined by more than 30 U.N. states, representatives of the European Union and more than 20 nongovernmental organizations, as well as Uighur victims.

 

"We invite others to join the international effort to demand and compel an immediate end to China’s horrific campaign of repression," he said. "History will judge the international community for how we respond to this attack on human rights and fundamental freedoms."

 

Paola Pampaloni, deputy managing director for Asia of the European External Action Service, said the EU was "alarmed" by the situation and also urged "meaningful" access to Xinjiang.

 

"We are concerned about ... information about mistreatment and torture," she said. "China is always inviting us to the camps under their conditions, we are in negotiations right now for terms and conditions for free access."

 

On Monday U.S. President Donald Trump had called for an end to religious persecution at another event on the sidelines of the U.N. gathering and repeated his comments in a speech on Tuesday.

 

Trump, who has been cautious about upsetting China on human rights issues while making a major trade deal with Beijing a major priority, said religious freedom was under growing threat around the world but fell short of specifically mentioning the Uighur situation.

 

"Volume is coming up at a pace that we hope that the Beijing government recognises not only U.S. but the global concern about this situation," David Stilwell, U.S. Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs told reporters at a briefing.

 

"We will see how that plays out and how Beijing reacts and take it from there."

 

A representative for the Chinese delegation to the U.N. General Assembly accused Washington of violating the U.N. Charter by criticizing China.

 

The United Nations says at least 1 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained in what China describes as "vocational training centres" to stamp out extremism and give people new skills.

 

Sullivan said the United States had received "credible reports of deaths, forced labour, torture, and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment" in the camps.

 

He said there were also many reports that the Chinese government forces detainees to renounce their ethnic identities as well as their culture and religion.

 

Though U.S. officials have ramped up criticism of China's measures in Xinjiang, it has refrained from responding with sanctions, amid on-again, off-again talks to resolve a bitter, costly trade war.

 

At the same time, it has criticized other countries, including some Muslim states, for not doing enough or for backing China's approach in Xinjiang.

 

Rishat Abbas, the brother of Uighur physician Gulshan Abbas, who was abducted from her home in Urumchi in September 2018, told Tuesday's event that "millions of Uighurs are becoming collateral damage to international trade policies, enabling China to continue to threaten our freedoms around the world, enable it to continue its police state.”

 

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has repeatedly pushed China to grant the United Nations access to investigate reports of disappearances and arbitrary detentions, particularly of Muslims in Xinjiang.

 

China's envoy in Geneva said in June that he hoped Bachelet would visit China, including Xinjiang. Bachelet's office said in June that it was discussing "full access" with China.

 

(This story corrects Sullivan's title in second paragraph to deputy secretary of state instead of assistant secretary of state)

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Humeyra Pamuk; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-25

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The majority of Americans condemn this but trump no imo he could care less

Very difficult situation - on one side a controlling, communist government, but like all governments charged with protecting its population - and on the other side a group, some of whom are known to have launched terrorist attacks in other parts of China on innocent people going about their business - thus far knife attacks killing up to 30 people per event, but who knows what they'd try and get away with if they got  better weaponized.

If your life is ruled by mythology, you deserve repression, taxation,  and condemnation IMO.

Humanity needs to get a grip on Truth and Facts and quit spending time pretending to follow 2000 - 3000 year old mythological tales which separate us. 

Faith is respecting and believing in yourself and other living things/beings in our world. 

Churches, temples, or mosques are nothing but buildings where religious fallacies and false hopes are spread

Culture is about who and where and how you live in the world.  The U.N. should get its head out of its a$$ and protect cultures only. 

The world will never be in homeostasis as long as religions are separating us

Edited September 25, 20196 yr by Skallywag

5 hours ago, Tug said:

The majority of Americans condemn this but trump no imo he could care less

In order to 'care less', you have to care. I see this expressions so often on Thai Visa, 'he could care less'.

However, the context always implies that the person being attacked, in this case Trump, 'could not care less', which means that he doesn't care at all.

 

So which is it, Tug? Trump cares, therefore he could care less, or Trump does not care at all, and therefore he 'couldn't care less'.

5 hours ago, Skallywag said:

If your life is ruled by mythology, you deserve repression, taxation,  and condemnation IMO.

Humanity needs to get a grip on Truth and Facts and quit spending time pretending to follow 2000 - 3000 year old mythological tales which separate us. 

Faith is respecting and believing in yourself and other living things/beings in our world. 

Churches, temples, or mosques are nothing but buildings where religious fallacies and false hopes are spread

Culture is about who and where and how you live in the world.  The U.N. should get its head out of its a$$ and protect cultures only. 

The world will never be in homeostasis as long as religions are separating us

What does any of that have to do with putting ethnic Uighurs in concentration camps and harvesting their organs and making most of the men and young boys disappear?

They aren't even black

6 hours ago, Tug said:

The majority of Americans condemn this but trump no imo he could care less

 

Wow, re the Trump Admin's role in this, was there ever a bigger case of the kettle calling the pot black.

 

The Chinese are 100% guilty of what they're being accused of and it's reprehensible.

 

But for the U.S. Trump Administration to be leading the charge is height of duplicity, considering his and his government's bans on U.S. entry visas for people from certain Muslim countries, his policies that attempt to deny political asylum to refugees fearing for their lives, and his own great affinity for equally repressive regimes like those in Russia and North Korea.

 

WOW!!!

 

Edited September 25, 20196 yr by TallGuyJohninBKK

The US doesn't care about Muslims. They do care about condemning their competitors and enemies by any means possible. 

the weega's (sharia law/islam) did the Jihad thing letting off a car bomb in Tiananmen Square killing Chinese Nationals
Beijing said screw this and are doing to the sharia law/islam/weega's what sharia law has been doing to infidels for the last 1500 years.
China is the only country so far to not be an appeaser country.
kudos China.

25 minutes ago, zydeco said:

What does any of that have to do with putting ethnic Uighurs in concentration camps and harvesting their organs and making most of the men and young boys disappear?

where you put 'ethnic uighurs' please put 'sharia law/islam'....it makes sense then

Edited September 25, 20196 yr by wombat

Hypocrisy, considering the USA's position on Muslims .

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Sullivan said the United States had received "credible reports of deaths, forced labour, torture, and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment" in the camps.

Sullivan said the United States had received "credible reports of deaths, forced labour, torture, and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment" in the camps at the southern border

 

Hypocrites... China is a constant, whereas the changing (and lowering) of standards by the former leader of the free world seems more worrisome.

Talk, talk, talk,,,, you have had 7 years to fix Burma & what,,,,,,,,,nothing

10 hours ago, Tug said:

The majority of Americans condemn this but trump no imo he could care less

I could care less also

10 hours ago, Skallywag said:

If your life is ruled by mythology, you deserve repression, taxation,  and condemnation IMO.

Humanity needs to get a grip on Truth and Facts and quit spending time pretending to follow 2000 - 3000 year old mythological tales which separate us. 

Faith is respecting and believing in yourself and other living things/beings in our world. 

Churches, temples, or mosques are nothing but buildings where religious fallacies and false hopes are spread

Culture is about who and where and how you live in the world.  The U.N. should get its head out of its a$$ and protect cultures only. 

The world will never be in homeostasis as long as religions are separating us

It is the Uighur culture and cultural identity that is being persecuted by the Chinese govt.

4 hours ago, wombat said:

where you put 'ethnic uighurs' please put 'sharia law/islam'....it makes sense then

It really doesn't.

5 hours ago, VincentRJ said:

In order to 'care less', you have to care. I see this expressions so often on Thai Visa, 'he could care less'.

However, the context always implies that the person being attacked, in this case Trump, 'could not care less', which means that he doesn't care at all.

 

So which is it, Tug? Trump cares, therefore he could care less, or Trump does not care at all, and therefore he 'couldn't care less'.

I think the expression  means exactly that. He cares less  than nothing at all . Which actually conveys an intent of meaning more  than "does not care".

Off-topic post reported and removed along with replies.

 

2 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

It is the Uighur culture and cultural identity that is being persecuted by the Chinese govt.

On the contrary, the Chinese government wants the Uyghurs to preserve their traditional culture instead of turning into Arabs/Talibans:

 

 

Ain't nobody liking themselves no Muslims.

 

 

4 minutes ago, Selatan said:

On the contrary, the Chinese government wants the Uyghurs to preserve their traditional culture instead of turning into Arabs/Talibans:

 

 

No, they want to destroy the Uighur culture, despite what Chinese propaganda BS says.

Edited September 25, 20196 yr by Bluespunk

2 hours ago, Dumbastheycome said:

I think the expression  means exactly that. He cares less  than nothing at all . Which actually conveys an intent of meaning more  than "does not care".

Well that's obviously illogical nonsense. It's impossible to care less than nothing.

4 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

No, they want to destroy the Uighur culture, despite what Chinese propaganda BS says.

That's the separatists' and Western propaganda and you are the one bull<deleted>ting. The Uyghurs used even to have their own religion, which was not Islam. My relatives have visited the place as tourists. Even our Malaysian government minister in charge of Islam had visited Xinjiang and gave his thumbs up.

4 minutes ago, Selatan said:

That's the separatists' and Western propaganda and you are the one bull<deleted>ting. The Uyghurs used even to have their own religion, which was not Islam. My relatives have visited the place as tourists. Even our Malaysian government minister in charge of Islam had visited Xinjiang and gave his thumbs up.

Your family visited as tourists? Well whoppee ******* doo. 
 

I’ll stick to the extensive fact based reports that outline exactly the human rights abuses and ongoing destruction of Uighur culture being carried out by the Chinese government. 

Edited September 25, 20196 yr by Bluespunk

Trump is a hypocrite!

 

If he really cares about Muslims, he would have taken in Uighur and Rohingya refugees by the millions by now just like what Germany did to other Muslims.

 

So how many Uighur got through to USA? Almost none.

 

He's just meddling in China's internal affairs to try to weaken China and make himself a hero to American people. And using Uighur as a tool.

 

Edited September 25, 20196 yr by EricTh

13 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Your family visited as tourists? Well whoppee ******* doo. 
 

I’ll stick to the extensive fact based reports that outline exactly the human rights abuses and ongoing destruction of Uighur culture being carried out by the Chinese government. 

What is so surprising about visiting Xinjiang as tourists?

You do know Western media often lie, don't you? Tons of lies of course would turn into "fact" for those who are attracted to anti-China propaganda. 

The one destroying Uyghur culture are the Islamists, who want the men and women to behave like Talibans. Do you want the Uyghurs to all wear like the Arabs instead of their traditional clothing and stop practising their traditional dances?

Edited September 25, 20196 yr by Selatan

5 minutes ago, Selatan said:

What is so surprising about visiting Xinjiang as tourists?

You do know Western media often lie, don't you? Tons of lies of course would turn into "fact" for those who are attracted to anti-China propaganda. 

The one destroying Uyghur culture are the Islamists, who want the men and women to behave like Talibans. Do you want the Uyghurs to all wear like the Arabs instead of their traditional clothing and stop to practising their traditional dances?

Tons of lies? How does one weigh a lie?

Nothing surprising about people visiting Xinjiang as tourists but that is all they are...tourists.

 

I’ll take the researched and methodically validated reports of those investigating the abuses of the Chinese government over those of some people on a holiday any day. 
 

The only ones destroying Uighur culture is the Chinese government. 
 

The rest of your post is unsubstantiated nonsense or based on the propaganda machine of the Chinese communist party.

 

Also known as lies? Wonder how much they weigh?

Edited September 25, 20196 yr by Bluespunk

7 hours ago, wombat said:

where you put 'ethnic uighurs' please put 'sharia law/islam'....it makes sense then

Ahh. Clearly the Uighur flight attendant on an Emirates flight who was happy to serve me alcohol must not have been a proper one.

For the rest of you, he was a fine man who didn't in the end blow up the plane or cut my head off. We talked for hours on various subjects. 

Funny how so many of these Muslims are actually people just like us. But hey! This is Thaivisa....

4 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Tons of lies? How does one weigh a lie?

 

The only ones destroying Uighur culture is the Chinese government. 
 

The rest of your post is unsubstantiated nonsense or based on the propaganda machine of the Chinese communist party.

 

Also known as lies? Wonder how much they weigh?

The daily bombardment of anti-China propaganda by Western media is nauseating. Luckily, not everyone in the world is accepting whatever the West says.

The one trying to save Uyghur culture is the Chinese government. 

If you say those evidence is Chinese propaganda which means unacceptable to you then surely someone is lying, right? Can you sincerely tell me that the US government never lies? Or US media never lies?