US lawmakers on Fridayrenewed their call for sanctions against China’s top official in the Xinjiangregion on the anniversary of riots that left nearly 200 dead.
China cracked down hardafter the July 5, 2009 rampage in Urumqi, the region’s capital.
Around one millionUighurs or members of other mostly Muslim, Turkic-speaking communities havebeen detained in a vast network of camps in the name of counterterrorism.
More than 40 US lawmakersacross the political spectrum on April 3 called on the Trump administration toslap sanctions on Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party secretary in Xinjiang.
But the chairs of theCongressional-Executive Commission on China, a US government body that monitorshuman rights in the country, said the administration has not yet responded tothe letter.
“On this sadanniversary, we reiterate that call to hold Chinese officialsaccountable,” said the chairs, Republican Senator Marco Rubio andDemocratic Representative Jim McGovern.
“The Chinesegovernment has operated with impunity in (Xinjiang) for far too long,”they wrote.
The Trump administrationhas repeatedly denounced China’s treatment of Uighurs, with Secretary of StateMike Pompeo likening the mass detention to Nazi-era concentration camps.
Rubio and McGovern wrote:”The rhetoric has been tough, but it’s not enough, given the egregiousscope of abuses.”
Administration officials say they are studying sanctions, but the issue comesas Trump is already embroiled in a range of disputes with China, including asimmering trade war.
China describes its campsas vocational training centers where Uighurs learn job skills and Mandarin andare dissuaded from embracing extremism.
But former detainees saythey were indoctrinated for merely following Islamic traditions, such aswearing long beards or face veils.