US Secretary of State backs Mesut Özil in criticism of China’s Uighur persecution
- Mike Pompeo says Beijing can stop broadcasts of team’s soccer games but cannot hide rights violations
- Star midfielder slammed Chinese crackdown on social media last week, urging fellow Muslims around the world to speak up about plight of Uighurs
Star midfielder Mesut Özil has criticized Muslim countries for not speaking up for minorities subjected to abuse in China. More than 1 million people have been sent to concentration camps in the East Turkestan colony.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo renewed his condemnations of China over human rights issues on Tuesday, tweeting out support for Mesut Ozil, a star midfielder for Arsenal of the English Premier League, and the criticisms Ozil had made of China's treatment of ethnic Uygur Muslims.
"China's Communist Party propaganda outlets can censor Mesut Ozil and Arsenal's games all season long, but the truth will prevail," Pompeo said in his post on Twitter.
"China's Communist Party propaganda outlets can censor Mesut Ozil and Arsenal's games all season long, but the truth will prevail," Pompeo said in his post on Twitter.
"The CCP can't hide its gross #human rights violations perpetrated against Uighurs and other religious faiths from the world."
Last week, Ozil, a German Muslim of Turkish origin, in social media posts called Uygurs "warriors who resist persecution" and criticised both China's crackdown and the silence of Muslims in response.
Arsenal on Saturday tried to distance itself from Ozil's comments after he posted the messages on Twitter and Instagram.
Last week, Ozil, a German Muslim of Turkish origin, in social media posts called Uygurs "warriors who resist persecution" and criticised both China's crackdown and the silence of Muslims in response.
Arsenal on Saturday tried to distance itself from Ozil's comments after he posted the messages on Twitter and Instagram.
"The content he expressed is entirely Ozil's personal opinion," the team's official account said in a post on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform.
But China's state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday removed Arsenal's game against Manchester City from its broadcast schedule.
But China's state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday removed Arsenal's game against Manchester City from its broadcast schedule.
The following day, Beijing responded by saying Ozil was "blinded by fake news".
Pompeo's criticism came just a few days after a "phase one" trade deal was reached between the world's two biggest economies, illustrating that the US-China rivalry continues on other fronts.
Moreover, human rights are rising as a potentially explosive topic between the two countries.
In October, the US State Department said it would stop issuing visas to Chinese government and Communist Party officials responsible for or complicit in the detention and surveillance of Uygurs and other Muslim minorities in the far-western East Turkestan colony.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The United Nations and human rights groups estimate that between 1 million and 2 million people, mostly ethnic Uygur Muslims, have been detained and interned in concentration camps in East Turkestan.
Pompeo's criticism came just a few days after a "phase one" trade deal was reached between the world's two biggest economies, illustrating that the US-China rivalry continues on other fronts.
Moreover, human rights are rising as a potentially explosive topic between the two countries.
In October, the US State Department said it would stop issuing visas to Chinese government and Communist Party officials responsible for or complicit in the detention and surveillance of Uygurs and other Muslim minorities in the far-western East Turkestan colony.
The United Nations and human rights groups estimate that between 1 million and 2 million people, mostly ethnic Uygur Muslims, have been detained and interned in concentration camps in East Turkestan.
Beijing doublespeak calls the camps "training centres", and says they are part of its "anti-terrorism" campaign.
The measures were hailed by human rights advocates as the first concrete actions taken by any country since the plight of the Uygurs became public knowledge two years ago.
Earlier this month, the US House of Representatives passed legislation requiring a stronger response to Beijing's treatment of its Uygur Muslim minority.
The measures were hailed by human rights advocates as the first concrete actions taken by any country since the plight of the Uygurs became public knowledge two years ago.
Earlier this month, the US House of Representatives passed legislation requiring a stronger response to Beijing's treatment of its Uygur Muslim minority.
The Senate passed a similar bill in September, and the two versions must be reconciled before being sent to US President Donald Trump to sign into law.
A similar sports controversy erupted in October over human rights in Hong Kong when the general manager of the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association posted on Twitter a slogan used by pro-democracy demonstrators there.
A similar sports controversy erupted in October over human rights in Hong Kong when the general manager of the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association posted on Twitter a slogan used by pro-democracy demonstrators there.
The tweet, which was quickly deleted, so angered Beijing and mainlanders online that the league's estimated US$4 billion market in China was put at risk.
Experts say that, as dust from the trade war settles, human rights are likely to become a constant flashpoint in US-China relations.
"Individual rights and religious freedom have long been points of contention between the United States and mainland China," said Sean King, a senior vice-president at the political consulting firm Park Strategies, suggesting that the two countries are less likely to make many concessions.
At a demonstration Saturday in Istanbul, Turkey, a supporter of China's Muslim Uygur Muslims holds a placard of Mesut Ozil reading.
To Kristine Lee, an associate fellow with the Asia-Pacific Security Programme at the Center for a New American Security, "it's deeply ironic that China has touted its 'remarkable achievements in the field of human rights', including at the United Nations.
"East Turkestan is one of the most pernicious examples in the 21st century of the CCP wielding its influence to curb progress on human rights and freedom of expression within its borders and beyond," Lee said.
"The United States must boldly call out these incongruities in China's actions, lest the CCP chip away at consensus around universal human rights, on everything from religious freedom to Hong Kong citizens' right to protest."
Experts say that, as dust from the trade war settles, human rights are likely to become a constant flashpoint in US-China relations.
"Individual rights and religious freedom have long been points of contention between the United States and mainland China," said Sean King, a senior vice-president at the political consulting firm Park Strategies, suggesting that the two countries are less likely to make many concessions.
To Kristine Lee, an associate fellow with the Asia-Pacific Security Programme at the Center for a New American Security, "it's deeply ironic that China has touted its 'remarkable achievements in the field of human rights', including at the United Nations.
"East Turkestan is one of the most pernicious examples in the 21st century of the CCP wielding its influence to curb progress on human rights and freedom of expression within its borders and beyond," Lee said.
"The United States must boldly call out these incongruities in China's actions, lest the CCP chip away at consensus around universal human rights, on everything from religious freedom to Hong Kong citizens' right to protest."
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