BEIJING (Reuters) – China has imposed sanctions on nine Britons, including lawmakers from the ruling Conservative Party, for spreading what it said were “lies and misinformation” about alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, prompting a strong crackdown. disapproval from London.
China-West relations are deteriorating rapidly, especially as Beijing backs down on sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada on what they say are violations of rights against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
China sanctioned four entities and nine people, including lawmakers such as former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith and the Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission, who “maliciously spread lies and misinformation.”
Banned people and their closest relatives are banned from entering Chinese territory, the Chinese foreign ministry said, adding that Chinese citizens and institutions will be banned from doing business with them.
Britain condemned the move as an attempt by Beijing to stifle criticism, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was in solidarity with those affected and that Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said he would summon the ambassador from China in London.
The convicts “are playing a vital role in illuminating the serious human rights violations committed against Uyghur Muslims,” Johnson wrote on Twitter.
Lawmaker Duncan Smith said he carried the sanctions as a “badge of honor.”
This month Britain has released a foreign policy review outlining its ambitions to gain more influence in the Indo-Pacific region as a way to moderate China’s growing global power, but has acknowledged that it must work with Beijing. on trade and global issues such as climate change. .
British luxury fashion brand Burberry has been hit in recent days by a Chinese backlash over Western allegations of abuse in Xinjiang.
“China is firmly committed to safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and development interests, and warns the British side not to go the wrong way anymore,” the Chinese ministry said. “Otherwise, China will make decisive reactions.”
London and Beijing have exchanged angry words on a number of issues, including China’s reforms in the former British colony Hong Kong and China’s trade policy.
UN activists and rights experts say at least one million Muslims have been detained in Xinjiang camps. Activists and some Western politicians accuse China of using torture, forced labor and sterilization.
China has repeatedly denied all allegations of abuse and says its camps offer vocational training and are needed to combat extremism.
“It looks like the Chinese government will sanction me for telling the truth about the #Uyghur tragedy in #Xinjiang and for raising awareness,” Jo Smith Finley, a Uyghur expert at Newcastle University, said on Twitter.
“It simply came to our notice then. I don’t regret talking and they won’t silence me. “
Reports of Ben Blanchard in Taipei, William James, Sarah Young and Paul Sandle in London, Se Young Lee in Washington and Gabriel Crossley in Beijing; Edited by Richard Pullin, Karishma Singh and Nick Macfie