China to take ‘reciprocal measures’ after US sanctions senior Chinese officials

China has rejected the sanctions imposed by the United States on Chinese officials over alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang, saying Beijing has decided to take “reciprocal measures”. During a regular press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that China has decided to take reciprocal measures against US agencies and individuals involved in egregious practices on Xinjiang-related issues.

“Xinjiang affairs are entirely China's internal affairs. The US has no right and is in no position to intervene,” said Zhao.

The US State Department said on July 9 that America will not stand idle as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) carries out human rights abuses targeting ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. The department announced sanctions on three senior Chinese officials and their families over gross human rights violations, banning their entry in the United States.

“The United States is taking action today against the horrific and systematic abuses in Xinjiang and calls on all nations who share our concerns about the CCP’s attacks on human rights and fundamental freedoms to join us in condemning this behavior,” the State Secretary Mike Pompeo in a statement. 

Responding to the sanctions, Zhao urged the United States to immediately rescind the “wrong decision” and stop making remarks on China’s internal affairs. He said that the Chinese government is determined to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and combat “violent terrorism, separatism and religious extremism”.

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Reports of forced sterilisation

Earlier, Pompeo had called on China to immediately stop forced sterilisation of Uighur Muslims after reports of coercive family planning emerged. Pompeo said that the shocking revelations made by German researcher Adrian Zenz are sadly consistent with decades of the Chinese Communist Party practices that demonstrate an utter disregard for the sanctity of human life and basic human dignity.

On June 17, Trump signed “Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020” into law which condemns gross human rights violations of the ethnic Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang region in China. It is aimed at holding accountable perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses such as the systematic use of indoctrination camps, forced labour, and intrusive surveillance to eradicate the ethnic identity and religious beliefs of Uighurs and other minorities in China.

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