China Retaliates To US, UK And Bloc Sanctions By Blacklisting 10 EU Officials And Academics

By Tony Winterburn • 22 March 2021 • 23:47

China Retaliates To US, UK And Bloc Sanctions By Blacklisting 10 EU Officials And Academics. image: Pexels

China Retaliates To US, UK And Bloc Sanctions By Blacklisting 10 EU Officials And Academics Over Alleged Abuses Of Uighur Muslims.

China has blacklisted 10 EU officials and academics after the US, the Uk and the Bloc hit Beijing with sanctions over alleged abuses of Uighur Muslims.

Beijing has announced retaliatory sanctions against a group of 10 EU politicians and academics in response to the 27-member bloc’s own punitive measures against the Chinese government for its alleged human rights abuses.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday, March 22, that the EU’s sanctions over the alleged detention and forced labour of Uighur Muslims, announced earlier on Monday, were based on “maliciously spread lies and disinformation.”

The move “grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs” and “flagrantly breaches international law,” the spokesperson said and urged the “hypocritical” EU to instead address its own mistakes.

MEPs Reinhard Butikofer, Michael Gahler, Raphael Glucksmann, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, and Miriam Lexmann are among those sanctioned by Beijing because they “severely harm China’s sovereignty.”

Also targeted are the Dutch, Belgian, and Lithuanian MPs Sjoerd Wiemer Sjoerdsma, Samuel Cogolati, and Dovile Sakaliene, as well as German and Swedish scholars Adrian Zenz and Bjorn Jerden.

Four EU-based democracy and human rights committees and groups have been sanctioned as well. All those added to the blacklist are now barred from entering or doing business with China.

It comes after the Council of the EU announced on Monday it was slapping sanctions on four Chinese regional party representatives and an organization in the north-western province of Xinjiang.

The move is part of a raft of EU sanctions against China, North Korea, Libya, Eritrea, South Sudan, and Russia, where, Brussels claims, torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances are being carried out.

Specific retaliatory measures against the UK and US are yet to be announced.

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