{"id":1792,"date":"2018-09-14T01:31:03","date_gmt":"2018-09-14T01:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/?p=1792"},"modified":"2018-09-14T02:12:54","modified_gmt":"2018-09-14T02:12:54","slug":"u-s-weighs-sanctions-against-chinese-officials-over-muslim-detention-camps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/2018\/09\/14\/u-s-weighs-sanctions-against-chinese-officials-over-muslim-detention-camps\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Weighs Sanctions Against Chinese Officials Over Muslim Detention Camps"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration is considering sanctions against Chinese senior officials and companies to punish Beijing\u2019s detention of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Uighurs and other minority Muslims in\u00a0large internment camps<\/a>, according to current and former American officials.<\/p>\n

The economic penalties would be one of the first times the Trump administration has taken action against China because of human rights violations. United States officials are also seeking to limit American sales of surveillance technology that Chinese security agencies and companies\u00a0are using to monitor<\/a>\u00a0Uighurs throughout northwest China.<\/p>\n

Discussions to rebuke China for its\u00a0treatment of its minority Muslims<\/a>\u00a0have been underway for months among officials at the White House and the Treasury and State Departments. But they gained urgency two weeks ago,\u00a0after members of Congress asked<\/a>\u00a0Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to impose sanctions on seven Chinese officials.<\/p>\n

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Until now, President Trump has largely resisted punishing China for its human rights record, or even accusing it of widespread violations. If approved, the penalties would fuel an already bitter standoff with Beijing over trade and pressure on North Korea\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n

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Last month, a United Nations panel\u00a0confronted Chinese diplomats<\/a>\u00a0in Geneva over the detentions. The camps for Chinese Muslims have been the target of growing international criticism and investigative reports, including by The New York Times.<\/p>\n

Human rights advocates and\u00a0legal scholars<\/a>\u00a0say the\u00a0mass detentions<\/a>\u00a0in the northwest region of Xinjiang are the worst collective human rights abuse in China in decades. Since taking power in 2012, President Xi Jinping has steered China on a hard authoritarian course, which includes increased repression of large ethnic groups in western China, notably the Uighurs and\u00a0Tibetans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Human Rights Watch\u00a0released a detailed report<\/a>\u00a0that concluded that the violations were of a \u201cscope and scale not seen in China since the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution.\u201d The report, based on interviews with 58 former residents of Xinjiang, recommended that other nations impose targeted sanctions on Chinese officials, withhold visas and control exports of technology that could be used for abuses.<\/p>\n

Any new American sanctions would be announced by the Treasury Department after governmentwide consultations, including with Congress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n