Iran Press/ Asia: Beijing has been pushing back against sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union, Britain, and Canada for what they say are rights violations against Uighur Muslims and other Turkic minorities in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang.
China will take measures against the chair and vice-chair of the US government’s Advisory Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Gayle Manchin and Tony Perkins, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
It also sanctioned Canadian member of parliament Michael Chong, vice-chair of parliament's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (FAAE), as well as the FAAE's Subcommittee on International Human Rights.
“The Chinese government is firmly determined to safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests, and urges the relevant parties to clearly understand the situation and redress their mistakes,” the ministry said.
“They must stop political manipulation on Xinjiang-related issues, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs in any form and refrain from going farther down the wrong path. Otherwise, they will get their fingers burnt.”
The individuals are banned from entering the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, the ministry said, and Chinese citizens and institutions are prohibited from doing business with the three individuals or having any exchanges with the subcommittee.
China’s previous sanctions on US individuals who it says have seriously undermined China’s sovereignty and interests on Xinjiang-related issues remain in effect, according to the statement.
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