- Uyghur Scholar Is Missing in Hong Kong, Rights Group Says, Raising Fear of Detention The Wall Street Journal
- Hong Kong denies knowledge about Uyghur student, slams Amnesty for saying he disappeared at airport Yahoo News
- Uyghur student missing for weeks after being interrogated by police at airport in Hong Kong Fox News
- Hong Kong government must reveal whereabouts of Uyghur student Amnesty International
- Hong Kong slams human rights group over ‘groundless’ claims of missing Uygur student South China Morning Post
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: Uyghur
Tesla, GM Among Car Makers Facing Senate Inquiry Into Possible Links to Uyghur Forced Labor
WASHINGTON—The Senate Finance Committee has opened an inquiry into whether auto makers including
Tesla Inc.
and
General Motors Co.
are using parts and materials made with forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region.
In a letter sent Thursday, the committee asked the chief executives of eight car manufacturers to provide detailed information on their supply chains to help determine any links to Xinjiang, where the U.S. government has alleged the use of forced labor involving the Uyghur ethnic minority and others.
The U.S. bans most imports from the region under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The letter to car companies cited a recent report from the U.K.’s Sheffield Hallam University that found evidence that global auto makers were using metals, batteries, wiring and wheels made in Xinjiang, or sourcing from companies that used Uyghur workers elsewhere in China.
According to that report, some car manufacturers “are unwittingly sourcing metals from the Uyghur region.” It said some of the greatest exposure comes from steel and aluminum parts as metals producers shift work to Xinjiang to take advantage of Chinese government subsidies and other incentives.
The U.S. ban on products linked to Xinjiang has already caused disruptions in the import of solar panels made there.
China has called Washington’s claim baseless. It disputes claims by human-rights groups that it mistreats Uyghurs by confining them in internment camps, with Beijing saying its efforts are aimed at fighting terrorism and providing vocational education.
Besides
Tesla
and GM, the letter signed by Finance Committee Chairman
Ron Wyden
(D., Ore.), was sent to
Ford Motor Co.
,
Mercedes-Benz Group AG
,
Honda Motor Co.
,
Toyota Motor Corp.
,
Volkswagen AG
and
Stellantis
NV, whose brands include Chrysler and Jeep.
GM said its policy prohibits any form of forced or involuntary labor, abusive treatment of employees or corrupt business practices in its supply chain.
“We actively monitor our global supply chain and conduct extensive due diligence, particularly where we identify or are made aware of potential violations of the law, our agreements, or our policies,“ the company said.
A Volkswagen spokesman said the company investigates any alleged violation of its policy, saying “serious violations such as forced labor could result in termination of the contract with the supplier.” A Stellantis spokesperson said the company is reviewing the letter and the claims made in the Sheffield Hallam study.
Other companies didn’t immediately provide comments.
“I recognize automobiles contain numerous parts sourced across the world and are subject to complex supply chains. However, this recognition cannot cause the United States to compromise its fundamental commitment to upholding human rights and U.S. law,” Mr. Wyden wrote.
The information requested includes supply-chain mapping and analysis of raw materials, mining, processing and parts manufacturing to determine links to Xinjiang, including manufacturing conducted in third countries such as Mexico and Canada.
General Motors says its policy prohibits forced or involuntary labor, abusive treatment of employees or corrupt business practices in its supply chain.
Photo:
mandel ngan/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
The lawmakers are also asking the auto makers if they had ever terminated, or threatened to terminate, relations with suppliers over possible links to Xinjiang, and if so, provide details of the cases.
The committee’s action comes as the Biden administration and bipartisan lawmakers increase their focus on alleged forced-labor practices in China as a key component of their confrontation with Beijing over its economic policy. The United Auto Workers has called on the auto industry to “shift its entire supply chain out of the region.”
The State Department has said more than one million Uyghurs and other minorities are held in as many as 1,200 state-run internment camps in Xinjiang. Chinese authorities “use threats of physical violence” and other methods to force detainees to work in adjacent or off-site factories, according to the department.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigated 2,398 entries with a total value of $466 million during the fiscal year ended September, up from 1,469 entries in the previous year and 314 cases in fiscal 2000.
Analysts expect the CBP’s enforcement activity to further increase this year, with a strong bipartisan push for a tougher stance on the forced-labor issue.
The researchers at Sheffield Hallam University found that more than 96 mining, processing, or manufacturing companies relevant to the auto sector are operating in Xinjiang. The researchers used publicly available sources, including corporate annual reports, websites, government directives, state media and customs records.
Write to Yuka Hayashi at Yuka.Hayashi@wsj.com
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U.N. body rejects debate on China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in blow to West
GENEVA, Oct 6 (Reuters) – The U.N. rights council on Thursday voted down a Western-led motion to hold a debate about alleged human rights abuses by China against Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang in a victory for Beijing as it seeks to avoid further scrutiny.
The defeat — 19 against, 17 for, 11 abstentions — is only the second time in the council’s 16-year history that a motion has been rejected and is seen by observers as a setback to both accountability efforts, the West’s moral authority on human rights and the credibility of the United Nations itself.
The United States, Canada and Britain were among the countries that brought the motion.
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“This is a disaster. This is really disappointing,” said Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, whose mother died in a camp and whose two brothers are missing.
“We will never give up but we are really disappointed by the reaction of Muslim countries,” he added.
Qatar, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan rejected the motion, with the latter citing the risk of alienating China. Phil Lynch, director of the International Service for Human Rights, called the voting record “shameful” on Twitter.
NEW TARGETS ‘TOMORROW’
China’s envoy had warned before the vote that the motion would create a precedent for examining other countries’ human rights records.
“Today China is targeted. Tomorrow any other developing country will be targeted,” said Chen Xu, adding that a debate would lead to “new confrontations”. read more
The U.N. rights office on Aug. 31 released a long-delayed report that found serious human rights violations in Xinjiang that may constitute crimes against humanity, ramping up pressure on China.
Rights groups accuse Beijing of abuses against Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority that numbers around 10 million in the western region of Xinjiang, including the mass use of forced labour in internment camps. The United States has accused China of genocide. Beijing vigorously denies any abuses.
‘ENORMOUS PRESSURE’
The motion is the first time that the rights record of China, a powerful permanent Security Council member, has been on the council’s agenda. The item has stoked divisions and a diplomat said states were under “enormous pressure” from Beijing to back China.
Countries like Britain, the United States and Germany, vowed to continue to work towards accountability despite Thursday’s outcome. read more
But activists said the defeat of such a limited motion, which stopped short of seeking an investigation, would make it difficult to put it back on the agenda.
Universal Rights Group’s Marc Limon said it was a “serious miscalculation”, citing the timing which coincides with a Western-led motion for action on Russia.
“It’s a serious blow for the credibility of the council and a clear victory for China,” he said. “Many developing countries will see it as an adjustment away from Western predominance in the U.N. human rights system.”
The event raised political dilemmas for many poor countries in the 47-member council who are loath to publicly defy China for fear of jeapordising investment.
Others probably wanted to avoid future scrutiny themselves.
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Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Miranda Murray, Nick Macfie, Bernadette Baum and Jonathan Oatis
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Uyghur skier carried the Olympic torch, then competed in her event and gave the press the slip – HotAir
The Chinese government chose Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a Uyghur skier to carry the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony. It was, indeed, an in-your-face moment to those opposed to China’s genocide of the Uyghurs. She carried the torch hand in hand with Zhao Jiawen, a Chinese athlete in the Nordic combined. The message was that everything is fine, there is no exclusion of Uyghurs from Chinese society. Typically, a more accomplished or better-known athlete would have been chosen to carry the torch.
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin smiled and watched from the VIP booth at the Beijing National Stadium. I watched some of the opening ceremonies, tuning in just before the U.S. delegation entered. It is hard to watch the athletic competitions and not feel some disgust that the IOC and international corporations are so corrupt that something like the genocide of a minority of citizens in a country, like China, is not taken into consideration when the host country is selected. Chinese film director Zhang Yimou was the opening ceremony maestro and he had promised it would be “a bold and unprecedented way of lighting the Olympic flame.” Mission accomplished.
The 2022 Beijing Olympics have been dubbed the Genocide Olympics. China’s intention is to whitewash any human rights criticisms. Frankly, the opening ceremonies on Friday were rather depressing. While the Chinese were making a big deal about the snowflake designs, it was unavoidable to notice that there was little electricity coming from those in attendance because there wasn’t the usual packed stadium. It was sad to watch the families of American athletes reacting to their kids and grandkids marching into the stadium in Beijing from the confines of their living rooms instead of being in the stadium themselves, cheering them on. That has to take a toll on the athletes and their families. Imagine supporting your child for years as he or she trains to compete in the Olympics and the Chinese government denies you a seat in the stadium as the Games begin.
Dinigeer Yilamujiang gave the slip to the global press on Saturday. The 20-year-old cross-country skier from Xinjiang, the center of the genocide, delivered what is described as a lackluster finish during her Olympic debut. She was barely written about by the Chinese press. This was the first time she had competed as an Olympic athlete. In the course of 18 hours, Ms. Yilamujiang went from her debut as a rising star to finishing 42 out of 65 competitors in her first event.
It didn’t go particularly well. By the first checkpoint of Saturday’s race, Ms. Yilamujiang had fallen behind more than half of the field of 65 competitors, eventually finishing 42 places behind the eventual gold medalist, Norway’s Therese Johaug.
Afterward, Ms. Yilamujiang and the three other Chinese athletes competing in the event slipped away, leaving more than a dozen Chinese and foreign journalists waiting for more than an hour in frigid temperatures.
Did she “escape” from the global press to avoid being asked awkward questions about the genocide and human rights violations by the Chinese? Is she concerned for her personal safety or that of her family? She is one of six athletes from her region competing in the Winter Games, and the only one of Uyghur heritage. All of the Chinese athletes ditched the press which seems unusual since her presence was hailed as a show of unity. It seems like from a public relations angle, the Chinese athletes could have put on a united front for the press, thus minimalizing the allegations against the brutal dictatorship that is killing Uyghers.
Ms. Yilamujiang’s escape, if that’s what it was, appeared to be in contravention of International Olympic Committee rules that require all athletes to pass through a “mixed zone” where they can—but aren’t obliged to—answer journalists’ questions.
The IOC confirmed in an emailed response to questions that mixed-zone rules remain in place despite the pandemic, but it declined to comment on Ms. Yilamujiang’s no-show. Ms. Yilamujiang couldn’t be reached for comment through China’s National Olympic Committee, which didn’t reply to requests for comment.
That’s the problem. The Chinese government is secretive, especially in its brutality against its own people. China’s state-run media published videos on social media of Ms. Yilamujiang’s family who were “beaming with pride.”
“China has done everything it can for me, and what is left for me to do now is to train hard and bring glory to the country,” Ms. Yilamujiang was quoted as saying in an article published by the Communist Party-run Xinjiang Daily. The article also highlighted her personal story, as a teenage talent groomed by her father—himself a decorated skier and national cross-country ski coach.
In a separate video posted by the newspaper, Ms. Yilamujiang’s mother praised Beijing: “Thanks to the country for giving my daughter such an important mission.”
Yilamujiang has been silent on her ethnic identity, likely for obvious reasons. Adake Ahenaer, a speedskater from Xinjiang, also making her Olympic debut, has not been silent. She is a member of a different ethnic minority,
“As an ethnic minority fighting in our home court, to represent my country and represent my ethnic group, gave me honor,” Ms. Adake told reporters after competing in the women’s 3,000-meter speedskating event on Saturday, where she came in 17th. “This honor is indescribable.”
The 22-year-old Ms. Adake, a member of China’s Kazakh minority, another of the country’s 56 officially recognized indigenous groups, said she got emotional seeing her close friend Ms. Yilamujiang appear on television as one of the surprise final torchbearers.
“She is representative of us young athletes in her spirit,” she said. Asked what she thought of Western media reports about Xinjiang, Ms. Adake sighed audibly.
Though not a Uyghur, the Kazakh minority has also been victims of genocide, crimes against humanity and torture by the Chinese government.
Let’s hope both young women make it home safely after the Games finish.
Uyghur skier, 20, ‘disappears’ after finishing 43rd in her Nordic combined debut
An Uyghur athlete who became the face of China’s Winter Games after lighting the Olympic flame at the Opening Ceremony has ‘disappeared’ from the spotlight.
Dinigeer Yilamujiang, 20, from the Altay Prefecture in Northern Xinjiang, finished 43rd in her cross-country skiathon Olympic debut on Saturday and has since vanished from the limelight.
She quietly slipped away after the event alongside three other Chinese athletes through a ‘mixed zone’, which allows athletes to pass through without having to answer questions from the media.
Ms Yilamujiang, who is the only athlete of Uyghur heritage, became the main focus of the Olympics following her controversial appearance at the Opening Ceremony – which rights groups have since criticised for ‘giving a political message’.
Following her prominent appearance on television, state media ran videos of Ms Yilamujiang’s family cheering and clapping as they watched the ceremony onscreen – which many claimed was staged.
Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, the man behind the mind-blowing Beijing 2008 opening ceremony, which also took place in the Birds Nest stadium, masterminded the event – promising it would be ‘a bold and unprecedented way to light the Olympic flame.’
Dinigeer Yilamujiang (left), a Uyghur cross-country skier from the north west region of Xinjiang, was one of the Chinese athletes to light the flame and has since vanished from the spotlight. Pictured right: Zhao Jiawen, 21, who is a Chinese athlete also in the Nordic combine
Ms Yilamujiang (pictured) finished 43rd in her cross-country skiathon Olympic debut on Saturday and has since vanished from the limelight of the Winter Games
Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, the man behind the mind-blowing Beijing 2008 opening ceremony, which also took place in the Birds Nest stadium, masterminded the event – promising it would be ‘a bold and unprecedented way to light the Olympic flame.’
Beijing Olympics organisers declined to comment on Ms Yilamujiang’s disappearance at a press conference on Saturday – but the IOC confirmed mixed-zone rules remain in place despite the pandemic, according to the WSJ.
In an article published by the Communist Party-run Xinjiang Daily, Ms Yilamujiang said: ‘China has done everything possible for me, and what is left for me to do now is to train hard and bring glory to the country.’
During another video posted by the newspaper, Ms Yilamujiang’s mother added: ‘Thanks to the country for giving my daughter such an important mission.’
In response to claims that Ms Yilamujiang’s inclusion was a political stance, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said she had ‘every right’ to participate.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: ‘Obviously the opening ceremony is something that the organising committee put together and there’s creative input. We are involved to a certain extent.’
‘This is an athlete who is competing here, she is competing this morning. She has every right, wherever she comes from, whatever her background, to compete… and to take part in any ceremony.’
In an article published by the Communist Party-run Xinjiang Daily, Ms Yilamujiang (pictured left) said: ‘China has done everything possible for me, and what is left for me to do now is to train hard and bring glory to the country.’
Ma Haiyun, an expert on Xinjiang and an associate professor at Frostburg State University in Maryland, said Ms Yilamujian’s appearance was ‘political’.
He said: ‘By selecting a Uyghur athlete to light the torch, China is trying to address criticism by the West about genocide or persecution of the Uyghurs, and about sinicisation of ethnic minorities.
‘But I don’t think this can have much effect on the West, which tends to think most of what China puts up is a show anyway’.
The Communist Chinese regime chose an Uyghur athlete to light the Olympic torch alongside Zhao Jiawen, 21, who is a Chinese athlete also in the Nordic combine.
There were just a handful of foreign dignitaries at the ceremony as most Western leaders boycotted over China’s human rights record and persecutions of Uighur Muslims in eastern Xinjiang province.
Activists and U.N. rights experts say at least one million Muslims are being detained in camps in the remote western region of Xinjiang, with activists and some Western politicians accusing China of using torture, forced labour and sterilisations.
China denies any human rights abuses in Xinjiang and says its camps provide vocational training and are needed to fight extremism.
Another moment of tension came as Taiwan’s athletes entered the stadium as ‘Chinese Taipei’. Taiwan views itself as a self-governing nation, but Beijing views it as a breakaway province and has threatening to ‘reunify’ it by force. The team was set to boycott the games over their team name, but were told by organisers they had to attend.
The world leaders were joined in the stands by just a handful of ‘select’ guests as the event takes place inside a Covid-secure bubble to comply with China’s strict zero Covid policy.
Meanwhile Xi Jinping received a standing ovation as he arrived to watch some 3,000 performers take part in the opening ceremony, which also featured goose-stepping People’s Liberation Army soldiers hoisting the country’s flag as the national anthem played.
President Xi Jinping received a minute-long standing ovation as he arrived in Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium to watch the Opening Ceremony on Friday
Xi watched as Taiwan’s athletes were forced to enter the stadium under the banner of ‘Chinese Taipei’. Taiwan views itself as a separate country, while China views it as a province and is threatening to ‘reunify’ it by force. Taiwan was going to boycott the games over the name, but was forced by the IOC to attend
China takes part in the parade of athletes during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games
Tickets for the opening ceremony as well as other Games events were not sold publicly with only those specially invited able to attend due to fears of the spread of Covid, leading to concerns that an absence of euphoric crowds may impact the atmosphere inside stadiums. No international fans are allowed at the Games.
But also missing are government officials from Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, United States and India who are initiating a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics over China’s human rights record, particularly over its treatment of the Uighurs.
They are a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority group in the Xinjiang autonomous region of China, which the UN has claimed have been subject of severe human rights violations at the hands of the state.
China has denied the allegations and warned nations taking part in the boycott that they will ‘pay a price’ for their ‘mistake.’ But athletes from those countries will be participating in the Games.
High stakes international politics also featured behind the scenes of today’s opening ceremony which was attended by guest of honour, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
He met his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping ahead of the event taking place to discuss the international crisis unfolding in Ukraine, which according to reports from both countries, has ‘brought them together.’
Putin is also using his visit to the Winter Games to meet the leaders of 20 other nations in what is being viewed as a diplomatic push to win them over as tensions in Ukraine continue to simmer.
A Uyghur Skier Became the Face of China’s Winter Olympics. The Next Day, She Vanished From the Spotlight.
By Saturday, the 20-year-old cross-country skier,
Dinigeer Yilamujiang,
had given the slip to an eager global press, her lackluster finish in her Olympic debut barely mentioned in the Chinese media.
The catapulting of Ms. Yilamujiang into the global spotlight, followed by a low-key retreat, marked a remarkable 24-hour whirlwind for the hitherto-unknown athlete.
On Friday night, as Chinese leader
Xi Jinping
and Russian President
Vladimir Putin
watched from the VIP booth at the Beijing National Stadium, Ms. Yilamujiang was the surprising—and immediately contentious—choice for what acclaimed Chinese film director and opening ceremony maestro Zhang Yimou had promised would be “a bold and unprecedented way of lighting the Olympic flame.”
In the end, it was less about how Ms. Yilamujiang carried the flame—hand in hand with Zhao Jiawen, a Chinese athlete in the Nordic combined—as it was about her identity.
Torch bearers Dinigeer Yilamujiang and Zhao Jiawen carried the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony.
Photo:
Cao Can/Zuma Press
Ms. Yilamujiang is a Uyghur, a member of the Turkic minority group native to China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang that has become the main focus of allegations in the U.S. and the West about Chinese human rights violations.
The decision to choose Ms. Yilamujiang, rather than a more accomplished or widely known athlete, and to pair her with a member of China’s Han majority, was interpreted as Mr. Xi’s act of defiance against the global pressure campaign and decried as “offensive” by overseas Uyghur human rights groups.
Ms. Yilamujiang’s selection for such a prestigious task was notable for another reason: She was set to make her Olympic sporting debut 18 hours after her star turn.
It didn’t go particularly well. By the first checkpoint of Saturday’s race, Ms. Yilamujiang had fallen behind more than half of the field of 65 competitors, eventually finishing 42 places behind the eventual gold medalist, Norway’s
Therese Johaug.
Afterward, Ms. Yilamujiang and the three other Chinese athletes competing in the event slipped away, leaving more than a dozen Chinese and foreign journalists waiting for more than an hour in frigid temperatures.
Dinigeer Yilamujiang competed in the cross-country skiathon, finishing 43rd.
Photo:
Aaron Favila/Associated Press
Ms. Yilamujiang’s escape, if that’s what it was, appeared to be in contravention of International Olympic Committee rules that require all athletes to pass through a “mixed zone” where they can—but aren’t obliged to—answer journalists’ questions.
The IOC confirmed in an emailed response to questions that mixed-zone rules remain in place despite the pandemic, but it declined to comment on Ms. Yilamujiang’s no-show. Ms. Yilamujiang couldn’t be reached for comment through China’s National Olympic Committee, which didn’t reply to requests for comment.
The 20-year-old from Xinjiang’s northern Altay prefecture is one of six athletes from the Chinese region competing in the Winter Games, and the only one of Uyghur heritage.
With the opening ceremony, Ms. Yilamujiang became an overnight celebrity in China, touted as a symbol of national unity.
“That moment will encourage me every day for the rest of my life,” Ms. Yilamujiang told China’s official news agency Xinhua on Sunday, it reported. “I was so excited when I found out we were going to place the torch. It’s a huge honor for me!”
Xinhua said she and her partner represented Chinese athletes born in the 2000s and symbolized an inheritance of sporting traditions and the Olympic spirit across generations. It made no mention of her ethnicity.
State-run media had earlier published videos on social media of Ms. Yilamujiang’s family back home in Xinjiang, beaming with pride.
“China has done everything it can for me, and what is left for me to do now is to train hard and bring glory to the country,” Ms. Yilamujiang was quoted as saying in an article published by the Communist Party-run Xinjiang Daily. The article also highlighted her personal story, as a teenage talent groomed by her father—himself a decorated skier and national cross-country ski coach.
In a separate video posted by the newspaper, Ms. Yilamujiang’s mother praised Beijing: “Thanks to the country for giving my daughter such an important mission.”
To human rights activists overseas, the choice of Ms. Yilamujiang for the opening ceremony was a pointed rebuttal by Mr. Xi.
The Chinese government has targeted the Xinjiang region’s mostly Muslim ethnic minorities with mass-detention internment camps and omnipresent surveillance as part of a yearslong campaign of forcible assimilation.
China has described its actions as necessary measures to fight terrorism and protect national security.
Concerns over China’s human rights record, and especially its ethnic-assimilation efforts in Xinjiang, have clouded the run-up to the Games, and overshadowed other aspects of the opening ceremony.
In a news briefing on Saturday, Beijing Olympic organizers declined questions about Ms. Yilamujiang’s selection, preferring to discuss instead the opening ceremony’s snowflake motif.
They told the Journal in separate emailed comments that there were stringent selection criteria for torchbearers, each of whom boasted outstanding achievements. The IOC declined to answer specific questions on her selection.
Though Ms. Yilamujiang wasn’t available to answer journalists’ questions after Saturday’s race, China’s state-run broadcaster did have an exclusive interview, in which she expressed incredulity at having been entrusted with the role of torchbearer.
“Since the country gave me such an important mission, I had to fulfill it,” Ms. Yilamujiang said in the interview, which was broadcast Sunday but which appeared to have been taped prior to her race.
Ms. Yilamujiang’s silence on her ethnic identity was a contrast with fellow athlete Adake Ahenaer, a speedskater from Xinjiang who was also making her Olympic debut.
“As an ethnic minority fighting in our home court, to represent my country and represent my ethnic group, gave me honor,” Ms. Adake told reporters after competing in the women’s 3,000-meter speedskating event on Saturday, where she came in 17th. “This honor is indescribable.”
The 22-year-old Ms. Adake, a member of China’s Kazakh minority, another of the country’s 56 officially recognized indigenous groups, said she got emotional seeing her close friend Ms. Yilamujiang appear on television as one of the surprise final torchbearers.
“She is representative of us young athletes in her spirit,” she said. Asked what she thought of Western media reports about Xinjiang, Ms. Adake sighed audibly.
—Laine Higgins contributed to this article.
Write to Liza Lin at Liza.Lin@wsj.com and Elaine Yu at elaine.yu@wsj.com
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Celtics’ Enes Kanter Freedom blasts Warriors’ co-owner’s ‘disgusting’ dig at Uyghur crisis
Boston Celtics center and newly-sworn United States citizen Enes Kanter Freedom responded to a left-wing Silicon Valley billionaire who is a part owner of the Golden State Warriors, after he dismissed the ongoing human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party against the Muslim-minority Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang Province.
Kanter called the treatment of Uyghurs, who are reportedly housed in dire conditions in concentration-type camps and endure forced labor and other abuses, as a “genocide” – which select Western leaders have brought attention to ahead of the Beijing Olympiad next month.
Earlier Monday, Chamath Palihapitiya, a former America OnLine (AOL) executive and founder of Social Capital, said on his podcast that “nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs, OK?”
“You bring it up because you really care and I think… The rest of us don’t care… I’m telling you a very hard, ugly truth, OK? Of all the things that I care about. Yes, it is below my line,” said Palihapitiya, 45, amid crosstalk from his stunned guest.
WARRIORS PART-OWNER AND VENTURE CAPITALIST ATTEMPTS TO CLARIFY SCATHING REMARKS ON UYGHUR MUSLIMS
“Until we actually clean up our own house, the idea that we step outside of our borders… with us sort of like morally virtue signaling about somebody else’s human rights track record is deplorable,” he said.
Kanter Freedom, a Turkish-American who amended his last name to signify his pride in becoming a new U.S. citizen last year, said he too was shocked when his manager sent him Palihapatiya’s comments in a text message before an afternoon NBA game.
Boston Celtics’ Enes Kanter (13) moves against Toronto Raptors’ Isaac Bonga during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Oct. 22, 2021, in Boston.
(AP)
“First of all, I couldn’t believe it. I was very angry, very disgusted and very disappointed,” Kanter Freedom said.
“I couldn’t focus on the game because of his comments, I mean, you look at the Uyghur people. What’s happened to the Uyghurs is one of the worst human rights abuses in the world today, and there’s a genocide happening while we’re talking right now. And he’s going out there and saying, ‘I could care less’. It’s a shame, and it is disgusting.”
Host Tucker Carlson noted that Palihapitiya is also a “huge donor” to the Democratic Party and aligned candidates.
The Silicon Valley mogul donated tens of thousands of dollars to liberal candidates and causes including President Joe Biden, several State Democratic Parties, former Rhode Island Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo – the current U.S. Commerce secretary – as well as Hillary Clinton, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. and Rep. Rohit Khanna, D-Calif., according to OpenSecrets records.
The records also show a small number of donations to New Jersey Republicans Chris Christie, Kim Guadagno, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Carlson further reported that the Warriors distanced themselves from Palihapitya’s comments, saying the venture capitalist “does not speak on behalf of our franchise,” while Palihapitiya later put out a statement acknowledging that his family “fled a country [Sri Lanka] with its own set of human rights issues, so this is something that is very much part of my lived experience.”
“To be clear, my belief is that human rights matter, whether in China, the United States or elsewhere; full stop,” Palihapitiya tweeted late Monday.
On “Tucker Carlson Tonight”, Kanter Freedom added that Palihapitiya was “virtue signaling” and that his company, Social Capital, “pretend[s] to care about social values.”
“He pretends to care about others, but the only thing he cares about is money and promoting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) propaganda. And it makes me sick how he’s using social justice to make money for his company,” he said.
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“I want to ask him one question– If your mother, if your daughter, if your sister was in those concentration camps and get in torture and gang-raped every day, would you still think about money? Would you tell? Would you still remain silent?” Kanter Freedom asked.
China replaces Xinjiang party boss associated with Uyghur crackdown | China
China has replaced the Communist party official widely associated with a security crackdown targeting ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslims in the far-west region of Xinjiang.
The state-owned Xinhua news agency said in a brief announcement on Saturday that Ma Xingrui, the governor of the coastal economic powerhouse Guangdong province since 2017, had replaced Chen Quanguo as the Xinjiang party chief. Chen will move to another role.
The change came amid a wider reshuffle ahead of next year’s 20th party congress, scheduled for the autumn. It is not clear whether the move signals a rethink in China’s overall approach to Xinjiang. Beijing would be sensitive to any interpretation that it was bowing to international pressure.
Some Chinese observers have noted Chen may be promoted further during the party congress. Others say his replacement, Ma, may focus more on the region’s economic development.
Chen, 66, was appointed party secretary of Xinjiang in 2016. He is one of the 25 members of China’s politburo and was placed on a sanctions list last year by the US.
On Thursday, Joe Biden signed into law a ban on imports from Xinjiang over Washington’s concerns about forced labour. Beijing condemned the move.
Rights groups and the United Nations say about 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslims have been detained in re-education camps in Xinjiang in the name of combating religious extremism and terrorism.
Since 2017, Beijing’s policy in the province has faced fierce criticism from abroad. Some western lawmakers and parliamentarians have described China’s treatment of the Uyghurs as genocidal – a charge Beijing denies. There have also been calls for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February.
Chen’s replacement, 62-year-old Ma, has a background in the aerospace industry. Before becoming governor of Guangdong he served as the party boss in Shenzhen from 2015.
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act: Biden signs bill banning goods from China’s Xinjiang
The bill passed Congress this month after lawmakers reached a compromise between House and Senate versions.
Key to the legislation is a “rebuttable presumption” that assumes all goods from Xinjiang, where Beijing has established detention camps for Uyghurs and other Muslim groups, are made with forced labor. It bars imports unless it can be proven otherwise.
Some goods — such as cotton, tomatoes, and polysilicon used in solar-panel manufacturing — are designated “high priority” for enforcement action.
China denies abuses in Xinjiang, a major cotton producer that also supplies much of the world’s materials for solar panels.
Its Washington embassy said the act “ignores the truth and maliciously slanders the human rights situation in Xinjiang.”
“This is a severe violation of international law and norms of international relations, and a gross interference in China’s internal affairs. China strongly condemns and firmly rejects it,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in an emailed statement.
He said China “would respond further in light of the development of the situation,” but did not elaborate.
In a statement Friday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its “strong indignation and resolute opposition” to the legislation.
“Claims of ‘forced labor’ and ‘genocide’ in Xinjiang are nothing but vicious lies hyped up by anti-China forces,” the statement said.
The US is engaging in “political manipulation and economic bullying under the guise of human rights,” and is trying to “undermine Xinjiang’s prosperity and stability and contain China’s development,” it added.
Nury Turkel, Uyghur-American vice chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, told Reuters this month the bill’s effectiveness would depend on the willingness of Biden’s administration to ensure it is effective, especially when companies seek waivers.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Biden’s approval of the law underscored the “United States’ commitment to combating forced labor, including in the context of the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang.”
“The State Department is committed to working with Congress and our interagency partners to continue addressing forced labor in Xinjiang and to strengthen international action against this egregious violation of human rights,” he said in a statement.
One of the bill’s co-authors, Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, said it was necessary to “send a resounding and unequivocal message against genocide and slave labor.”
“Now … we can finally ensure that American consumers and businesses can buy goods without inadvertent complicity in China’s horrific human rights abuses,” he said in a statement.
In its final days in January, the Trump administration announced a ban on all Xinjiang cotton and tomato products.
The US Customs and Border Protection agency estimated then that about $9 billion of cotton products and $10 million of tomato products were imported from China in the past year.
Additional reporting by CNN’s Yong Xiong.
Uyghur tribunal rules that China ‘committed genocide’ against the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities
“The tribunal is satisfied that the PRC [People’s Republic of China] has affected a deliberate, systematic and concerted policy with the object of so-called ‘optimizing’ the population in Xinjiang by the means of a long-term reduction of Uyghur and other ethnic minority populations to be achieved through limiting and reducing Uyghur births,” Geoffrey Nice, who chaired the tribunal, said on Thursday as he read out the verdict.
He added that the tribunal was “satisfied that President Xi Jinping, Chen Quanguo and other very senior officials in the PRC and CCP [Chinese Communist Party] bear primary responsibility for acts in Xinjiang.”
While the “perpetration of individual criminal acts that may have occurred, rape or torture, may not have been carried out with the detailed knowledge of the President and others, but the tribunal is satisfied that they have occurred as a direct result of politics, language and speeches promoted by President Xi and others and furthermore these policies could not have happened in a country with such rigid hierarchies as the PRC without implicit and explicit authority from the very top,” he said.
The judgment follows a series of tribunal hearings in London this year, during which a panel of jurors reviewed evidence and testimony.
The non-governmental independent Uyghur Tribunal was founded in 2020 by Nice, a British barrister and international human rights lawyer, at the urging of Uyghur activists.
Nice was among several British individuals and entities sanctioned by the Chinese government in March this year in retaliation for British sanctions on Chinese officials over human rights violations in Xinjiang.
The tribunal has no powers of sanction or enforcement, but vows to “act wholly independently” and “confine itself to reviewing evidence in order to reach an impartial and considered judgment on whether international crimes are proved to have been committed” by China, according to its website.
China’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Zheng Zeguang, has called the Uyghur Tribunal a “political manipulation aimed at discrediting China.”
“The organization has been designed to tarnish the image of China, mislead the public here, spoil the goodwill between the Chinese people and the British people and disrupt the smooth development of the China-UK relationship,” Zheng said at a news conference in September.
Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, has called the tribunal a “pure anti-China farce.”
On Thursday, the Chinese Embassy in London called the tribunal “a political tool used by a few anti-China elements to deceive and mislead the public. It is not a legal institution. Nor does it have any legal authority.”
It added that the Xinjiang region “now enjoys economic progress, social stability and ethnic solidarity. China will remain focused on doing the right thing and following the path that suits its national reality.”
The United States State Department estimates up to 2 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities have passed through a sprawling network of detention centers across Xinjiang, where former detainees allege they were subjected to intense political indoctrination, forced labor, torture, and even sexual abuse.
Human rights groups and overseas Uyghur activists have also accused the Chinese government of forced cultural assimilation and coerced birth control and sterilization against Uyghurs.
The US government has accused China of committing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, as have lawmakers and rights groups in the UK and Canada.
Beijing vehemently denies allegations of human rights abuses, insisting the camps are voluntary “vocational training centers” designed to stamp out religious extremism and terrorism.
In March, the US along with the European Union, Canada and the UK announced sanctions on Chinese officials over human rights violations in Xinjiang. China responded almost immediately by imposing a raft of tit-for-tat sanctions, as well as travel and business bans.
As the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics approaches, international pressure over China’s treatment of Uyghurs has been building, with activists calling for a boycott of the Games.
On Monday, the Biden administration said it would not send an official US delegation to the Games as a statement against China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang” — though American athletes will still be allowed to compete in Beijing.
Since then, Australia, the UK and Canada have joined the US in the diplomatic boycott.
At a news conference Wednesday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said “human rights abuses and issues in Xinjiang” were some of the concerns raised by the Australian government with Beijing.
Also on Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban the importation of goods from Xinjiang over concerns about forced labor. The “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act” was passed by an overwhelming 428-1. It must also pass the Senate and be signed by US President Joe Biden to become law.