China announced sanctions against two Canadian institutes and 20 individuals. These measures targeted the Uygur Rights Advocacy Project, the Canada Tibet Committee, and their employees. With the sanctions, China froze their assets and barred them from entering the country.
The organization working on the rights of the Uygurs frequently talks about the human rights violations from Beijing concerning this mostly Muslim ethnic minority, which includes the mass use of forced labor in camps. The Chinese side denies the accusations.
As for the Canada Tibet Committee, it aims to research the seizure of control of Tibet by China in 1950 and what’s described as „oppressive rule“ in Tibetan areas by international human rights groups and exiles.
Notably, the Chinese sanctions are viewed as countermeasures to Canadian sanctions announced on December 10th. The Canadian side based its decision on Chinese state-led human rights violations against religious and ethnic minorities. In the statement, they focused on Xinjiang, mostly populated by Uygurs, and Tibet, as well as those who face problems for practicing the Falun Gong religion. The sanctions imposed by Canada include the freezing of assets of eight former and current Chinese officials. Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry speaker talked about the history of human rights violations from the Canadian side in response to this step taken by Ottawa and stated, that Canada often „spreads lies about the so-called human rights issue in China“.
