US imposed restrictions on Thai officials for deporting Uyghurs to China

The US has imposed visa restrictions on current and former Thai officials who participated in the forced repatriation of Uighur Muslims, as part of a new policy to support groups subjected to torture in China, the Financial Times reports, UNN writes.

Details

The policy will target foreign officials involved in attempts to forcibly return ethnic or religious minorities to China who are at risk of persecution.

"We are committed to combating China's attempts to pressure governments to forcibly return Uighurs and other groups to China, where they are subjected to torture and enforced disappearances," said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"In light of the long-standing acts of genocide and crimes against humanity committed by China against the Uighurs, we call on governments around the world not to return Uighurs and other groups forcibly to China," the statement said.

Rubio said the actions against unnamed current and former Thai officials were in response to their involvement in forcing 40 Uighurs to return to China in late February. Thailand is a US ally under a defense treaty, but the country is nervous about confronting China, which is much more important to the Southeast Asian country from a trade point of view, the newspaper writes.

The State Department did not specify what the visa restrictions entail, but such measures mainly concern the refusal to issue visas to enter the United States. Rubio said the measures could also apply to family members of any officials who facilitate repatriation.

Addition

The Uighurs are a Turkic ethnic minority from the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang. In 2022, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights accused Beijing of committing "serious human rights violations" in its treatment of Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.

"Over time, China has imprisoned more than 1 million Uighurs in camps in Xinjiang, which has drawn criticism from many countries around the world," the newspaper writes. Beijing has repeatedly denied persecuting Uighurs.

China eases restrictions on Uyghurs, but travel abroad is still banned04.02.25, 02:56 • 28949 views

The new policy, as stated, is the first indication of how US President Donald Trump will respond to human rights violations involving China.

Many China experts believe that Trump wants to reach some kind of broad agreement with Beijing that would include trade and other issues. They are watching how the president and his officials talk about likely human rights violations in China, given the possible consequences for any broader negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the newspaper writes.