US PRESIDENT VOWS REPERCUSSIONS FOR CHINA OVER HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

Wed 17 February 2021:

US President Joe Biden vowed repercussions for China over alleged human rights violations. “There will be repercussions for China,” Biden said during a CNN town hall in the state of Wisconsin. “And he [Chinese President Xi Jinping] knows that,” the US leader said.

“We must speak up for human rights. So we are,” said Biden in response to a question by moderator Anderson Cooper on China’s treatment of the Muslim Uighur minority in the country’s northwest.

The US president recalled that he talked to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for two hours last week and they know each other “well.”

Asked if there will be any repercussions against China over the rights abuses, Biden said: “Well, there will be repercussions for China, and he [Xi] knows that.”

He pledged to continue to reassert America’s role as spokespersons for human rights at the UN and other agencies that have an impact on China’s attitude.

“China is trying very hard to become the world leader. And to get that moniker and be able to do that, they have to gain the confidence of other countries,” said Biden.

“And as long as they’re engaged in activity that is contrary to basic human rights, it’s going to be hard for them to do that,” he added.

Last month The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) said new evidence had emerged in the past year that “crimes against humanity – and possibly genocide – are occurring” in Xinjiang. It also accused China of harassing Uighurs in the U.S.

A U.S. genocide declaration would mean countries would have to think hard about allowing companies to do business with Xinjiang, a leading global supplier of cotton. It would also raise pressure for further U.S. sanctions.

Last month U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the U.S. was imposing a region-wide ban on all cotton and tomato products from Xinjiang over allegations that they are made with forced labor by detained Uighurs. Canada and Britain also have announced plans to block imports of goods produced by forced labor.

The United Nations says at least 1 million Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained in Xinjiang.The region is home to around 10 million Uighurs. The Turkic Muslim group, which makes up around 45% of Xinjiang’s population, has long accused Chinese authorities of cultural, religious and economic discrimination.

About 7% of the Muslim population in Xinjiang has been incarcerated in an expanding network of “political reeducation” camps, according to U.S. officials and U.N. experts. Over 380 suspected detention facilities have been identified in the Xinjiang region, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) reported last year.

Under international law, crimes against humanity are defined as widespread and systematic, whereas the burden of proof for genocide – the intent to destroy part of a population – can be more difficult to prove.

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