(TibetanReview.net, Jan15’20) – US Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has condemned China for “blatant human rights violations” after rules it uses to justify the ongoing repression in Xinjiang that has drawn global concern were adopted in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) during the recent session of its rubberstamp local parliament. The new policies, supposedly meant to “strengthen ethnic unity”, will go into effect On May 1.
On Jan 13, Sen. Rubio tweeted that “the international community can’t turn a blind eye” to the development, and that “Tibet’s CCP-controlled Congress” was “following Xinjiang’s footsteps”, reported Catholic News Agency (CNA) Jan 14.
The regulations require all facets of society, from villages to large companies, schools, military organizations and religious groups, to promote work on “ethnic unity.” September will be deemed a special ethnic unity month, with a focus on activities to strengthen “ethnic unity” within Tibet.
He has told the CNA, “As the Chinese Communist Party continues its attempts to wipe out Tibetan culture, the US and freedom loving nations should condemn the blatant violations of human rights.”
The report noted that these rules had come to the TAR four years after different regulations aimed at “ethnic unity” were introduced in Xinjiang, and about four and a half years after Chinese President Xi Jinping cited ethnic unity in Tibet as crucial for the “sustainable, long-term and comprehensive stability of the society.”
Under its “ethnic unity” campaign in Xinjiang, China has opened a network of over 1,200 detention camps housing approximately one million political prisoners who are mostly Uyghur Muslims. China claims these camps are meant for the prevention of terrorism and for vocational skill training. However, a leaked manual from the camps detailed the “re-education” techniques the Uyghur population would be subjected to in the camps, and included “ideological education”.
In addition to the camps, Uyghurs have alleged numerous human rights abuses, including organ harvesting. In the fall of 2019, reports emerged that Uyghur women were forced to marry Chinese men. Such marriages have been encouraged through preferential policies for years in the TAR too.
