US Imposes Sanctions on Chinese Company Over Human Rights Abuse in Xinjiang

Washington DC, July 31: US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Friday said that sanctions have been imposed on Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and two of its officials for their connection to serious human rights abuse on the Uyghur community in Xinjiang.

After the sanctions imposed by the US Department of the Treasury, Pompeo urged countries worldwide to condemn the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for their continuous human rights abuse against its own citizens. Also Read | Chhattisgarh Reports 336 New COVID-19 Positive Cases, 3 Deaths Today: Live News Breaking And Coronavirus Updates on July 31, 2020.

"We call on all countries to join us in condemning the CCP's heinous abuse of the human rights of its own citizens, affecting countless families across the world," he said. According to a press statement issued by the US Department of the Treasury, "The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned one Chinese government entity and two current or former government officials -- Peng Jiarui, the Deputy Party Secretary and Commander of the XPCC, and Sun Jinlong, a former Political Commissar of the XPCC -- in connection with serious rights abuses against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR)." Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Extends Eid-Ul-Azha Greetings to Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, Wishes Her Good Health and Prosperity.

"These designations include the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), Sun Jinlong, a former Political Commissar of the XPCC, and Peng Jiarui, the Deputy Party Secretary and Commander of the XPCC. The entity and officials are being designated for their connection to serious human rights abuse against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, which reportedly include mass arbitrary detention and severe physical abuse, among other serious abuses targeting Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim population indigenous to Xinjiang, and other ethnic minorities in the region."

"As previously stated, the United States is committed to using the full breadth of its financial powers to hold human rights abusers accountable in Xinjiang and across the world," said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.

The sanction has been imposed in accordance with the Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, "Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption," which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, the statement read.

On May 22, the US had added nine PRC entities related to human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region to the Commerce Entity List, thus, adding to the October 2019 Commerce Entity List of 28 entities involved in the PRC repression campaign in the Xinjiang region.

"The XPCC is a paramilitary organisation in the XUAR that is subordinate to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The XPCC enhances internal control over the region by advancing China's vision of economic development in XUAR that emphasizes subordination to central planning and resource extraction," the statement read.

The US Department of Treasury further said that Chen Quanguo (Chen), who is the current First Political Commissar of the XPCC, was designated on July 9 for his connection to serious human rights abuse.

"Chen is also the current Communist Party Secretary of XUAR, and has a notorious history of intensifying security operations in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, where he was deployed before arriving in Xinjiang to tighten control over members of Tibetan ethnic minority groups. Following his arrival in Xinjiang, Chen began implementing a comprehensive surveillance, detention, and indoctrination program targeting Uyghurs and members of other ethnic minority groups. The XPCC has helped implement Chen's CCP policy in the region."

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