US sanctions 11 more Chinese firms over human rights violations

DHARAMSALA,  21 July: The US has announced “sanctions against a new group of 11 Chinese companies for their alleged involvement in human rights violations” of the Uighur Muslim minority in East Turkistan, reports the ANI.

The sanctions against the 11 Chinese firms was announced by the US commerce department on Monday, bringing nearly 50 Chinese entities on the trade blacklist, the report added citing The Washington Post.

The blacklisted Chinese firms will now be restricted from access to American technology as well as other goods, the report added.

“Beijing actively promotes the reprehensible practice of forced labour and abusive DNA collection and analysis schemes to repress its citizens,” the report quoted US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross as saying in a statement.

“This action will ensure that our goods and technologies are not used in the Chinese Communist Party’s despicable offensive against defenceless Muslim minority populations,” the statement added.

According to the US commerce department, nine of the companies were involved in forced-labour activities involving Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups.

The Secretary has stated in the report that the step was taken to ensure that American goods are not used by the “repressive” Beijing regime.

“Beijing actively promotes the reprehensible practice of forced labour and abusive DNA collection and analysis schemes to repress its citizens,” Ross said. “This action will ensure that our goods and technologies are not used in the Chinese Communist Party’s despicable offensive against defenceless Muslim minority populations.”

Changji Esquel Textile Co. Ltd., Hefei Bitland Information Technology Co. Ltd., Hefei Meiling Co. Ltd., Hetian Haolin Hair Accessories Co. Ltd., Hetian Taida Apparel Co., Ltd., KTK Group, Nanjing Synergy Textiles Co. Ltd., Nanchang O-Film Tech and Tanyuan Technology Co. Ltd. are the nine Chinese firms sanctioned over forced labour while Xinjiang Silk Road BGI and Beijing Liuhe BGI were sanctioned over conducting genetic analyses, the report added.

Last week, the US has announced visa restrictions on employees of Chinese technology firm Huawei for providing “material support to the Chinese Communist Party regime that commits human rights abuses.” 

Chen Quanguo, The Chinese Communist regime’s Party Chief of East Turkistan become the highest-ranking Chinese official sanctioned by the US until now over alleged human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority.

Chen, a member of China’s powerful Politburo was blacklisted by the US along with three other officials last week.

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