China hits back to sanction UK individuals and entities behind smears of Xinjiang

File photo:Xinhua

China hit back after the UK's unilateral move of sanctioning Chinese individuals and entities over Xinjiang affairs, with countermeasures of sanctioning nine UK individuals and four entities including chairman of the foreign affairs committee Tom Tugendhat and other MPs and scholars who have spread lies and rumors about China's Xinjiang region, and some major think tanks that have played infamous roles in the matter.

The individuals concerned and their immediate family members are prohibited from entering the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao. Their properties in China will be frozen, and Chinese citizens and institutions will be prohibited from doing business with them.

Among those on the sanctions list, Tom Tugendhat is chairman of the foreign affairs committee at the parliament and chair of the China Research Group. The foreign affairs committee has launched unreasonable inquiries into Xinjiang affairs citing "forced labor," and is behind many foreign policies coercing China over Xinjiang. Tugendhat had referred to non-existent "massive detentions of Uygurs" as "echoes of the 1930s."

Duncan Smith, former leader of the Conservative Party, and Nusrat Ghani, together with other conservative members of parliament, have called for political actions against China over Xinjiang.

Neil O'Brien, also a conservative MP and co-founder of China Research Group, has long been a China-hawk with remarks calling for tough actions against China over a wide range of topics including technology competition, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

David Alton is a crossbench peer at the House of Lords. In January 2021, Alton influenced the Lords to pass an amendment to the Trade Act 2021 that would require that the UK does not trade with China, which he called a "genocidal regime."

Tim Loughton, another conservative MP and a former minister, backed by other MPs, suggested British sanctions against Chinese officials and organizations, citing alleged repression in Xinjiang.

Geoffrey Nice is a barrister and chair of the Uygur Tribunal in Britain, which is also on the sanction list. The tribunal aims to establish that the Chinese government's policies in Xinjiang constitute genocide in a public hearing in London in May.

Helena Kennedy, a Labour member of the House of Lords, is behind multiple reports that smeared Xinjiang. She is co-author of a recent report by US Newslines Institute for Strategy and Policy that claimed genocide in Xinjiang. The co-authors also include pseudo-scholar Adrian Zenz.

Joanna Finley is a faculty member of Newcastle University, teaching Chinese studies. She has published articles and talked to media, claiming Xinjiang has forced sterilization and other abuses, without evidence.

The China Research Group, which many of the sanctioned individuals are connected with, is a newly set clique which includes conservative MPs and some researchers. The aim of the group is to urge the UK government to take a tougher stance on China.

Essex Court Chambers, after consulting secessionist terrorist organization World Uyghur Congress, authored a legal opinion concluding that China's policies in Xinjiang constitute "genocide."

Conservative Party Human Rights Commission is established to inform, advise and develop the party's foreign policy by making human rights a priority. It has issued reports smearing China's human rights situation and Confucius Institutes.