State Department restricts visas for Thai officials involved in forced Uyghur returns to China

The Department of State announced Friday that it imposed visa restrictions on Thai officials involved in the forced return of Uyghurs to China.

In a press release from the State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio placed visa restrictions on current and former Thai officials “responsible for, or complicit in, the forced return of Uyghurs or members of other ethnic or religious groups with protection concerns to China.”

“In light of China’s longstanding acts of genocide and crimes against humanity committed against Uyghurs, we call on governments around the world not to forcibly return Uyghurs and other groups to China,” Rubio said in the press release.

The move comes after the government of Thailand forced 40 Uyghurs back to China Feb. 27, according to the State Department. Initially, the State Department urged the Chinese government to “verify the well-being” of the Uyghurs.

“This act runs counter to the Thai people’s longstanding tradition of protection for the most vulnerable and is inconsistent with Thailand’s commitment to protect human rights,” Rubio said Feb. 27 in a State Department press release. “We urge all governments in countries where Uyghurs seek protection not to forcibly return ethnic Uyghurs to China.”

Members of the Uyghurs, an ethnic minority native to the Xinjiang province in China, have been the target of genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

The CCP has made use of detention camps to detain Uyghurs in Xinjiang, with one such facility estimated to hold as much as 10,000 people.

Multiple reports and testimonies from China indicate the communist regime is targeting the Muslim-majority Uyghur with measures such as banning public prayer and surveilling mosques. Other reports have alleged that the Chinese government is sterilizing Uyghurs and forcing women to have abortions.

Between 2015 and 2018, birthrates in the majority-Uyghur regions of Hotan and Kashgar have plummeted by over 60%, while in Xinjiang, birth rates fell almost 24% in 2019, according to the Associated Press in 2020.

The State Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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