Chinese companies are using a state labor program to force their largely Uighur Muslim minorities to make masks and other personal protective equipment to keep up with increasing demands during the coronavirus pandemic, a New York Times investigation said Sunday.
Although most of the material allegedly produced through Uyghur forced labor was distributed domestically, some Chinese companies that participated in the job transfer program also sent shipments on the global market to countries, including the United States.
At least one shipment was shipped to a Georgia medical supply company from a factory in China’s Hubei province, where more than 100 Uighur workers were assigned, according to the Times.
CHINA SUBJECT TO MUSLIM MINORITIES FOR THE CONTROL OF FORCED BIRTH, ABORTIONS TO SUPPRESS THE POPULATION, THE REPORT SAYS
A perimeter fence is built around what is officially known as a vocational education center in Dabancheng, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, September 4, 2018. (Reuters / Thomas Peter)
The job transfer program involves sending Uighur workers from their homes in the Xinjiang region to factories and other service jobs. They must learn Mandarin and swear allegiance to China at weekly flag raising ceremonies.
Before the pandemic occurred, only four companies in Xinjiang manufactured medical-grade protective equipment, according to the China National Administration for Medical Products. By June 20, at least 51 companies in the region were producing medical grade PPE. Of those 51, at least 17 participated in the state labor program involving Uighur workers, the Times reported, citing state media reports and public records.
Chinese state-run media has advertised the program as an aid to lift Uighurs out of poverty by giving them a form of employment and eliminating religious extremism. But the sanctions and quotas imposed by the Chinese government suggest that participation in the program is involuntary.
This comes as British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Sunday accused Beijing of “serious and egregious” human rights abuses against its Uighur population in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang. Raab said that while Britain wants good relations with China, it cannot stand amid reports of forced sterilization and mass education camps targeting the Uighur population in Xinjiang.
“It is clear that serious and serious human rights abuses are taking place. We are working with our international partners on this. It is very, very worrying, “he told the BBC.
Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador, denied in an interview with the BBC that there were concentration camps in Xinjiang and insisted that “there is no so-called population restriction.” When faced with drone images that appeared to show the Uighurs blindfolded and driven to the trains, Liu said there are many “false accusations” against China.
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Relations between China and Western powers have further deteriorated after China imposed a national security law in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous territory that Britain handed over to China in 1997. Britain recently decided to ban the Chinese telecommunications giant. Huawei to get involved in the UK. Super fast 5G mobile network.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
