US imposes sanctions on China for mistreatment of Uighurs – Times of India

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration said on Thursday it was imposing new sanctions on several Chinese biotech and surveillance companies for action in Xinjiang province, the latest move against Beijing over human rights abuses of Uighur Muslims in the country’s western region.
The Commerce Department is targeting China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences and its 11 research institutes that focus on using biotechnology to support the Chinese military.
The Treasury Department is also prepared to issue penalties against several Chinese entities, according to a senior administrative official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the steps announced soon.
The official, explaining the Commerce Department’s actions, said that US intelligence has established that Beijing has installed a high-tech surveillance system in Xinjiang that uses biometric facial recognition and that 12 to 65 years of age in the Xinjiang-part. DNA samples have been collected from all residents of the age group. Made a systematic effort to suppress the Uighurs.
The White House announced last week that it would carry out a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing China’s “serious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang”. American athletes will continue to compete but Biden will not send the usual contingent of dignitaries.
The administration also said this week that it supports bipartisan legislation that bans imports from Xinjiang into the US unless companies can demonstrate that the goods were not produced by forced labor.
China has denied any abuse and said the steps it has taken to counter terrorism and the separatist movement are necessary.