SW News: The U.S. Secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo, has called upon the Chinese government to stop its atrocious human rights violations against ethnic and religious minorities, especially Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. In a statement released on January 19, Mike Pompeo accused the Chinese government of committing "genocide" against Uyghur Muslims, which he believes, is still "ongoing."

As per the reports secured by the U.S., the government of Xi Jinping has been systematically repressing Uyghur Muslims, ethnic Kazakhs, and ethnic Kyrgyz since at least March 2017. The Chinese government has imposed "arbitrary imprisonment" and has curtailed the physical liberty of more than one million civilians in the country. The Uyghur Muslims are also subjected to "forced sterilization," and "forced labor." "The freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, and freedom of movement" is also denied to them.

The Chinese Communist Party's "morally repugnant, wholesale policies, practices, and abuses are designed systematically to discriminate against and surveil ethnic Uyghurs as a unique demographic and ethnic group, restrict their freedom to travel, emigrate, and attend schools," said Mike Pompeo. "PRC authorities have conducted forced sterilizations and abortions on Uyghur women, coerced them to marry non-Uyghurs, and separated Uyghur children from their families," he added.

In the statement, Mike Pompeo sternly criticized the Chinese government for denying "unhindered access" to international observers and denouncing "reliable reports" on the plight of the Uyghur people.

In his official determination, the U.S. State Secretary has called upon the PRC to "immediately release all arbitrarily detained persons and abolish its system of internment, detention camps, house arrest, and forced labor." He also demanded that PRC end its “coercive population control measures” and "persecution of Uyghurs and other members of religious and ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang and elsewhere in China."