Trump dealt China a heavy blow on his last day

The US State Department announced on Tuesday that the Chinese government is committing genocide and crimes against humanity through its widespread crackdown on Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the northwestern Xinjiang region, including the use of internment camps and forced vaccinations.

The move is expected to be the Donald Trump administration’s latest move against China, taken on the last full day, and the culmination of a years-long debate about how to punish what many consider the worst violations. of Beijing’s human rights for decades.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated over the past four years, and the new initiative widens points of tension. Foreign policy officials and experts from all political circles in the United States say China will be the biggest challenge for any administration for years or decades to come.

Uyghurs

“I believe this genocide is continuing, and we are witnessing a systematic attempt to destroy the Uyghurs by the Chinese Communist State,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement, adding that Chinese officials “are engaged in methods of extermination and ultimately the eradication of a small ethnic and religious minority group. ” “.

More sanctions against China

Identifying the atrocities is a rare State Department move that could lead the United States to impose more sanctions on China under the new Biden administration. President-elect Joseph Biden said last year, through a spokesperson, that Beijing’s policies amounted to “genocide”.

And other countries or international institutions can follow suit by officially criticizing China for its treatment of the Muslim minority and taking punitive measures. In addition, this decision calls for certain reviews within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the New York Times, this result is the most severe condemnation to date by any US government of Chinese policy in Xinjiang.

According to international conventions, genocide aims to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part.

Pompeo, State Department attorneys and other officials had argued for several months about passing the decision, but the issue rose to prominence in the final days of the Trump administration.

The Chinese government has rejected all accusations of genocide and other human rights violations in Xinjiang, and it often uses anti-terrorism rhetoric to defend its practices.

“The so-called genocide in Xinjiang is a lie,” the Chinese Embassy in Washington said in a long statement on Tuesday evening, adding that the total population of Xinjiang’s ethnic minorities, as well as Uighurs, increased from 2010 to 2018.

Furthermore, the report states that Xinjiang’s policies are part of the fight against “terrorism and extremism, and these measures have proven to serve Xinjiang’s status and have produced remarkable results.”

To avoid criticism from US officials, Chinese officials have also focused on some of the terrible failures of the Trump administration, including Corona’s 400,000 death toll and the deadly attack on Capitol Hill by a Trump-backed mob. .

For their part, some Uyghurs have expressed their gratitude for this decision. Washington lawyer Rehan Asat, whose younger brother is jailed in China, said: “Today’s genocide decision is an indication of the recognition of the long suffering of victims and survivors of Chinese government detention camps. , such as my brother Ikbar, and millions of Uyghurs. About these atrocities. “