French lawmakers call Chinese treatment of Uighurs “genocide”
Posted by Catherine Reed / January 21, 2022French lawmakers have officially labeled China’s treatment of Uighurs “genocide,” calling on the government to take “the necessary measures within the international community and in its foreign policy towards the People’s Republic of China” to protect the Uighurs. The move comes just weeks before the Olympics.
The American Congress has passed a bill that would require companies to prove that their imported goods did not come from Uighur slave labor. President Biden has compared the Chinese treatment of the Uighur people to the Holocaust.
A Chinese detective in exile spoke to CNN about the torture Uighurs have been subjected to in China, including sexual assault, electrocution, starvation, and waterboarding.
Marchers gathered in Paris to demand that the EU ban products made with Uighur labor. Fourteen new Chinese companies have been added to the U.S. blacklist over human rights violation in Xinjiang. Just after the January elections, in his first call with Chinese official Yang Jiechi, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pressed China over its treatment of the Uighur and Tibetans. The U.S. State Department has also labeled China’s treatment of the Uighur people genocide, the harshest criticism of Beijing’s action and a signal that the international community may increase pressure on Beijing.
“What caught my eye was that they actually use specific language saying that China needs to ‘upgrade population quality,’” she said. “They need to ‘optimize their birth policy.’ They even use a term … which is effectively emphasizing the role of eugenics in population planning in China.”
Two months ago, a group of about two dozen Uighurs took China to the International Criminal court, citing crimes against humanity, torture, and genocide.
A Uighur doctor has described horrific things happening as part of China’s attempts to control the Uighur population, including forced abortions and hysterectomies. This doctor’s testimony confirms what Uighur women have said about their experiences under Beijing’s genocidal campaign, describing forced sterilization and other human rights violations.
France has called for outside observers in Chinese Uighur areas as evidence of genocide mounts. A group of British lawyers has also said that the international community is legally obligated to act.
A New York Times investigation has revealing that the Chinese government may be forcing Uighur people to make face masks, some of which end up in the United States. The Times was able to trace one shipment to the state of Georgia, for example.
According to a recent report out of Australia, a shocking number of global companies are exploiting the Uighur forced labor camps set up by the Chinese government. Here are just some of those companies: Abercrombie & Fitch, Amazon, GAP, H&M, Nike, Jack & Jones, Sharp, Siemens, Skechers, ASUS, Apple, Samsung, Huawei, BMW, Volkswagen, Sony, Polo Ralph Lauren, Puma, Victoria’s Secret, Vivo.
The news come as China ramps up its attempts to wipe out the Uighur people by attempting to control their population growth. The government is forcible implanting IUDs, sterilizing, and performing abortions on Uighur to prevent them from procreating.
The Chinese government is also sending Uighurs to detention camps for growing beards or wearing veils, both related to Muslim practices. What’s more, the government is also detaining Uighurs for visiting foreign websites.
Beijing is also allegedly forcing Muslim members of the Uighur community to redecorate their homes, removing anything that doesn’t appear “traditionally Chinese” and replaced with decorations that do.
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