:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/NWD6XRE34NP3U6BZ7U5BA2ZK3I.jpg "US Imposes Sanctions on Chinese Officials Over “Forced Assimilation” of Tibetan Children")
US Imposes Sanctions on Chinese Officials Over Forced Assimilation of Tibet’s Children
Chinese officials involved in the policy of “forced assimilation” of children in Tibet are facing sanctions imposed by the United States. The move comes after the UN reported that over a million Tibetan children have been separated from their families as a result of these coercive policies.
US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announced the visa restrictions on Tuesday, accusing the Chinese government of aiming to eradicate the linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions of Tibet among younger Tibetans. “We urge the Chinese authorities to end the coercion of Tibetan children in government-run boarding schools and to cease repressive assimilation policies, both in Tibet and elsewhere,” said Blinken in a statement.
This is not the first time the US has taken action against China over human rights abuses. Since 2021, Chinese officials have faced accusations of carrying out genocide in Xinjiang through forced labor camps. The new restrictions on Tibetan officials will apply to those involved in Tibetan politics, regardless of whether they are still active or not.
The US previously imposed sanctions on two high-ranking Chinese officials, Wu Yingjie and Zhang Hongbo, in December for their involvement in widespread human rights violations in Tibet. Blinken cited a report by three UN experts who estimate that around a million Tibetan children have been forcibly transferred to boarding schools.
The program appears to be aimed at assimilating Tibetans into the majority Han ethnic culture of China, with mandatory education in Mandarin and no acknowledgment of the unique culture in the Buddhist-majority region. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have been forced to abandon their traditional rural lives for so-called “vocational training.”
China’s foreign ministry dismissed the allegations, calling them “completely groundless” and stating that Tibet enjoys social stability, economic development, ethnic unity, religious harmony, and peace. China has ruled Tibet with a firm hand since the 1950s, and the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, has been in exile in India since 1959. Many Tibetans have accused China of repressive measures and torture.
The restrictions on Chinese officials come as the US continues to take a strong stance against human rights violations in China. The international community will be closely watching to see if these sanctions will have any impact on China’s behavior regarding Tibet and human rights abuses in general.
– AFP contributed to this report.