Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called an Associated Press report that China sterilizes and forcibly aborts Uighur Muslim women “shocking.”
Pompeo’s remarks came after the AP said Monday that the Chinese government was taking draconian measures to reduce birth rates among Uighurs and other minorities as part of a campaign to stem the growth of its Muslim population.
NBC News was unable to independently verify the report’s findings.
Pompeo, a persistent critic of China, said in a statement Monday that the “shocking revelations” were consistent with decades of the practices of the Chinese Communist Party “that demonstrate absolute disregard for the sanctity of human life and basic human dignity.” .
“We call on the Chinese Communist Party to immediately end these horrific practices and call on all nations to join the United States in demanding an end to these dehumanizing abuses,” he said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responded to Pompeo’s comments on Tuesday calling him a “blatant liar.”
Zhao added that the Chinese government has always treated all ethnic groups equally.
The AP investigation, which cited the investigation of Adrian Zenz, a German scholar in China, concluded that forced birth control in China is more widespread and systematic than previously known.
The AP also reported that China regularly subjects minority women to pregnancy tests and forces hundreds of thousands of intrauterine devices (IUDs), sterilizations and even abortions. Although IUD use and sterilization has declined across the country, they are increasing sharply in Xinjiang, home to millions of Uighurs, according to the report.
The report used statistics and government documents, as well as multiple interviews with Uighur women to back up their claims.
For decades, China had an abandoned “one-child” policy, during which authorities had encouraged, and often forced, contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortions.
International rights groups have accused the Chinese authorities of carrying out mass arbitrary arrests, torture and ill-treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang, while Beijing has strongly denied allegations of mistreatment to the minority community.
Uyghurs are often forced to enter so-called re-education camps, which leaked internal government documents that have been shown to be designed to function as prisons. The United Nations estimates that more than a million Uighurs have been detained in these camps, which Beijing says is a crucial part of its efforts to counter extremism.
Chinese authorities have said that since 1990 thousands of people have been killed or wounded in explosions, murders, poisonings, arson and riots carried out by Uighurs.
China responded to criticism by questioning the treatment of ethnic minorities in the United States and saying that Washington uses the treatment of Uighurs as an excuse to smear the country and interfere in its internal affairs.
Monday’s report on forced birth control is the latest fight in the current war of words between Beijing and Washington.
Earlier this month, Beijing threatened to retaliate after President Donald Trump signed a law calling for sanctions to punish Chinese officials for Uighur human rights abuses.
After accusations in excerpts from a book by former national security adviser John Bolton, Trump told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that he supported building camps in Beijing to detain the Uighurs. NBC News was unable to independently verify Bolton’s claims.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
