Latest news with #Uyhgurs
Euronews
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
China lifts sanctions imposed on five lawmakers in 2021, EU Parliament says
ADVERTISEMENT China has lifted sanctions it imposed on five European Union lawmakers in 2021, the EU parliament said on Wednesday. The sanctions were imposed in retaliation against alleged persecution of the Uyghur Muslims who live in China's far western region of Xinjiang. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola was at the helm of negotiations to lift the sanctions, a development which comes as tensions between the EU and China have been easing since US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Beijing in April. In a statement informing senior lawmakers of the breakthrough, Metsola said "our relationship with China remains complex and multi-faceted. The best way to approach it is through engagement and dialogue." The sanctions were part of a series of measures implemented by Beijing in 2021, in response to coordinated sanctions which the EU, the UK, Canada and the United States imposed against Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses against the Uyhgurs. Five EU lawmakers were among the 10 European politicians and four bodies who were accused of "maliciously spreading lies and disinformation" and "grossly interfering in China's internal affairs." Students training to become imams recite verses from the Quran at the Xinjiang Islamic Institute in Urumqi, 21 April, 2021 AP Photo Michael Gahler, Raphael Glucksmann, Ilhan Kyuchyuk and Miriam Lexmann, as well as Reinhard Butikofer, who is no longer a member of the parliament, were sanctioned by China. They were banned from entering Chinese territory — a move which led the parliament to halt all official dialogue with China and hold up an investment deal that EU lawmakers had been due to endorse. Despite this, the sanctions did not deter EU lawmakers from condemning China and the treatment of Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim minority native to Xinjiang. Following the announcement, senior lawmakers insisted that Beijing's move "does not mean the European Parliament will overlook persistent challenges in EU-China relations," and vowed that the assembly will "remain a strong defender" of human rights. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China responded to the lifting of sanctions with a firm warning, "to be clear, the removal of some sanctions by the totalitarian regime doesn't constitute a favour that warrants concessions from the EU." The Uyghurs are a Turkic, majority Muslim ethnicity native to Xinjiang. After decades of conflict over suppression of their cultural identity, Beijing allegedly launched a brutal crackdown on the Uyghurs that some Western governments deem a genocide. China claims its measures, which included vocational training centres, were an attempt to stamp out extremism and prevent terrorist attacks.
Associated Press
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
The European Parliament says China has lifted sanctions it imposed on 5 EU lawmakers in 2021
BRUSSELS (AP) — China has lifted sanctions it imposed on five European Union lawmakers in retaliation against the bloc's defense of Uyghur Muslims in the far western Xinjiang region, the EU parliament said on Wednesday. Beijing imposed a series of measures in March 2021 after the EU, Britain, Canada and the United States launched coordinated sanctions against officials in China over human rights abuses against Uyhgurs in Xinjiang. Five EU lawmakers were targeted as part of China's retaliation: Michael Gahler, Raphael Glucksmann, Ilhan Kyuchyuk and Miriam Lexmann, as well as Reinhard Butikofer, who is no longer a member of the parliament. They were banned from entering Chinese territory and the move led the parliament to halt all official dialogue with China and hold up an investment deal that EU lawmakers had been due to endorse. The sanctions lifting was negotiated by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. It comes amid an easing of tensions between the EU and China since U.S. President Donald Trump hiked tariffs against them on April 2. 'Our relationship with China remains complex and multi-faceted. The best way to approach it is through engagement and dialogue,' Metsola said in a statement after informing senior lawmakers of the breakthrough. But the senior lawmakers insisted that Beijing's move 'does not mean the European Parliament will overlook persistent challenges in EU-China relations,' and they vowed that the assembly will 'remain a strong defender' of human rights. The Uyghurs are a Turkic, majority Muslim ethnicity native to Xinjiang. After decades of conflict over suppression of their cultural identity, Beijing launched a brutal crackdown on the Uyghurs that some Western governments deem a genocide.
