US report flags genocide, systematic abuses of Uyghurs, Tibetans in China

Washington, Aug 17 (IANS) Beijing is carrying out severe and systematic violations of fundamental freedoms of the ethnic minorities, such as Tibetans and Uyghurs, according to the US State Department's 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on China.

The report spotlights arbitrary detentions, transnational repression, and extensive cyber surveillance, particularly targeting ethnic minorities such as Tibetans and Uyghurs.

The 42-page document highlights the "Genocide and crimes against humanity occurred during the year in China against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang".

The findings showed that arbitrary arrest and detention continued to be systemic in 2024, enabled by laws that grant public security officers broad powers to hold individuals for long periods "without formal charges".

According to the report, former political prisoners and their family members were often targeted again, while many continue to remain imprisoned or held under other forms of detention, including Tibetan Buddhist monks Go Sherab Gyatso and Tenzin Khenrab, Tibetan entrepreneur Dorjee Tashi, and singers Lhundrub Drakpa and Trinley Tsekar.

It further noted that the "Chinese authorities placed many citizens under house arrest during sensitive times, such as during the visits of senior foreign government officials, annual plenary sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre, and 'sensitive' anniversaries in Tibetan areas and Xinjiang".

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its "agents," according to the report, were engaging in acts of violence and intimidation against dissidents abroad.

These included threats, stalking, theft of personal property, and even physical assaults using flagpoles and chemical sprays.

"There were credible reports that China pressured other countries aimed at forcing those countries to take adverse action against specific individuals or groups," the report reads.

Intimidation tactics against protesters overseas are also documented in another report, published in July, by the Hong Kong Democracy Council and Students for a Free Tibet.

Adding to the report findings, a few documents that were leaked in February from the Chinese cybersecurity firm, 'i-Soon (Aixun)', also showed "extensive" cyber operations conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Public Security and other state security agencies.

These cyber campaigns allegedly targeted overseas organisations linked to ethnic minorities, especially Uyghurs in Central and Southeast Asia, as well as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) based in Dharamshala, in India's Himachal Pradesh.

The leaks, the State Department report noted, further demonstrate the CCP's global reach in attempting to suppress dissent beyond its borders.

The report also stated that the Chinese government "did not take credible steps or action" to identify or punish officials who committed human rights abuses.

--IANS

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