A bipartisan organization of U. S. lawmakers is pushing the State Department to raise its advisory to Xinjiang to the point of greatest threat due to the Chinese government’s “ongoing crimes against humanity and genocide” and promotion of tourism in the region.
In a letter to U. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday, the co-chairs of the Congressional Executive Commission on China (CCCB) said that “U. S. citizens and permanent residents, businesses, and other entities should be warned of the threat of enabling atrocities. “crimes if they engage in tourism in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. “referring to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The committee’s leaders, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N. J. , and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-ORE. , also sent letters to three U. S. -based companies asking them to halt all tours of the domain until the situation changes.
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“Well-meaning tourists do not deserve to be placed in a position where they tolerate atrocities, nor to be used as propaganda pawns,” they wrote.
On their U. S. websites, two of the companies, Wild Frontiers Adventure Travel and Geographic Expeditions, offer trips to cities in Xinjiang, adding Kashgar, as a component of broader “Silk Road” tours.
The third, Abercrombie.
In August 2023, Wild Frontiers, which, along with the other two companies, was cited in a report on foreign agencies operating in Xinjiang through the Washington-based Uygur Human Rights Project, said it was conducting a “full investigation” into their tours.
In an interview with The Post on Thursday, Michael Pullman, a representative of Wild Frontiers, said the investigation was “ongoing” and that a member of the company would travel to Xinjiang on a research project in June.
“We have already had several conversations with our former Uyghur partners in Xinjiang, either remotely or in person, and to date they need us to continue to provide to the region,” he said.
He added that the company’s conclusion so far is that the region “does not whitewash the problems” and “does more good than harm. “
A representative for Geographic Expeditions said that sending visitors to a destination “is never perceived as an endorsement of this government’s policies or practices,” but rather as an endorsement that is “a major force for intelligence around the world. “
The company is “constantly checking and evaluating” its business to make sure it “works with the right partners and visits the right places,” he said.
Abercrombie
As of June 2023, the State Department considers mainland China, adding Xinjiang, a “level three” on a four-level scale, which refers to “reconsidering travel,” raising “the arbitrary application of local laws, adding with respect to leaving bans. ” and unjustified detention. “
The CCCB maintains that the threat of travel to Xinjiang is “heightened” for Americans of Uyghur origin or other Turkish Muslim origins. In its letter, the commission cites his mass detention in Xinjiang, as well as the destruction of traditionally Uyghur neighborhoods and sites.
In 2021, the State Department analyzed the Chinese government’s moves on genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights did not go so far as to call Beijing’s moves genocide; its 2022 assessment of
Without reaching “firm conclusions” about the extent of the destruction of sites, he called reports of destruction of mosques, shrines and Islamic cemeteries “deeply troubling. “
In 2014, Xinjiang’s government pledged to eliminate extremism in the region in the face of considerations of terrorism and separatism, efforts that the UN and human rights teams say have led to human rights violations.
Beijing says there have been no terrorist attacks in Xinjiang since 2017 and that there have been “thousands of terrorist attacks” in the region between 1990 and 2016.
A white paper published in 2021 through China’s State Council Information Office denied the destruction of devotional sites, suggesting they were in poor condition and were being rebuilt for security reasons.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government is selling tourism in Xinjiang, recruiting domestic and foreign influencers on social media.
In its letters, the CECC argues that Turkish and Muslim teams will most likely be forced to support the tourism industry and that the government is using “homestay” systems in Xinjiang as a means of tracking visitors in order to justify upcoming arrests.
Established in 2000 to advise the U. S. Congress and the administration on issues similar to human rights and the rule of law in China, the committee is comprised of House representatives, senators and administration officials.
Smith, who was sanctioned by the Chinese government in 2020, recently said he had asked the Chinese government for permission to travel to Xinjiang. “I would like to go to Xinjiang and lead a congressional delegation,” he said in December.
“We will ask questions, but we will be fair,” he said, adding that he had not yet “gotten a yes or no” from Beijing.
Smith and Merkley said Thursday that while tourism is halted in Xinjiang, the U. S. and its allies “demand unfettered access to the long-banned U. N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, U. S. Customs and Border Protection officials, and experts in the region. “ongoing atrocities and other serious human rights violations, such as forced labor. “
In response, Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said Thursday that “the door to Xinjiang is open. “
“We invite other independent people from all countries to Xinjiang,” he added.
Only about 10% of countries have a “level four” alert, which refers to “do not travel. “In such contexts, the State Department says it would possibly have “very limited capacity” for travelers in the event of problems.
Hong Kong downgraded to “level two” in July. It had previously been designated “level four” in March 2022, and then downgraded to “level three” the following October.
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.
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