US curbs China officials’ visas

Beijing yesterday decried a US decision to restrict visas for Chinese officials linked to the repression of Xinjiang Muslims, and called on Washington to withdraw the measure.

The United States has stepped up its criticism of China's treatment of Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in the western region, where rights group say more than one million are held in internment camps.

Washington earlier this week announced the blacklisting of 28 Chinese entities involved in rights violations in Xinjiang, which China has said was based on "groundless" claims.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the visa curbs on Tuesday, urging China to cease its "campaign of repression" in the region and release those interned.

China had until recently denied the camps existed, but later described them as "vocational education centres" where people learn Mandarin and job skills as necessary counter-terrorism measures.

The US is "disregarding the facts, slandering and smearing China on Xinjiang-related issues," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular press conference yesterday.

In 2017, Xinjiang authorities passed sweeping "anti-extremism" regulations that banned a wide range of behaviours and customs -- formalising a regional crackdown on certain Muslim practices.

Growing "abnormal" facial hair was included in the government's list, as well as wearing robes that cover the whole body and face.

An AFP investigation in June found that at least 30 mosques and religious sites have been destroyed in Xinjiang since 2017.

The heightened US pressure on China's policies in Xinjiang comes at a tense time for the two countries, which have been locked in a trade war for more than a year.