Washington punishes 28 Chinese organizations for violations against Uyghurs

[DaLveN @CSBD]

Washington: Middle East Online
The United States has blacklisted 28 Chinese government and trade organizations, accusing them of involvement in a crackdown by the authorities, especially against the Muslim Uighur minority, the Commerce Department said Monday.
"The US government and the Department of Commerce cannot tolerate and will not tolerate the brutal repression of ethnic minorities across China," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.
They will be denied imports of products from the United States.
“This will ensure that our technologies will not be used to suppress unarmed minorities,” Ross said.
The US government explained that these organizations include eight commercial entities, while the other government groups, including the Public Security Bureau in Xingyang (northwest), where experts and human rights organizations report that the authorities are holding more than one million people, mostly Uighurs in detention camps.
"These entities are all involved in the implementation of the Chinese campaign of repression, arbitrary mass detention and surveillance with high technology," the statement said.
Beijing, for its part, condemned Washington's decision, saying it was "baseless" for these accusations.
"This act seriously violates basic norms in international relations, interferes in China's internal affairs and harms the interests of the Chinese side," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters. "China expresses its dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this."
Targeted business entities include video surveillance firm Hikvision and Megvi Technology and SensTime, according to an official document to be released tomorrow (Wednesday).
In a statement, Megvi reiterated her "strong" opposition to a US decision "not based on any facts." The company defended its "positive impact on society."
The US Senate last month adopted a bill to increase pressure on China, with the threat of sanctions, to urge it to stop "human rights abuses."
The decision taken by the United States on Monday, days before the resumption of negotiations between Beijing and Washington aimed at reaching a comprehensive agreement to end the trade war between them.