China launches series of rebukes against US Uighur bill

Beijing, Dec 4 (AP) China has responded with swift condemnation after US Congress overwhelmingly approved a bill targeting its mass crackdown on ethnic Muslim minorities. The legislation condemns the detention of an estimated 1 million Uighurs, Kazakhs and others in China's far west Xinjiang region.

Chinese government departments Wednesday published a slew of strongly worded rebukes to the bill, calling it another example of U.S. interference into China's internal affairs. The Foreign Affairs Commission of China's legislature says the U.S. has “turned a blind eye” to its efforts to combat terrorism and safeguard human rights in Xinjiang.

The commission says the bill “disregards the facts and mixes up black and white.” Relations between the countries were already strained by President Donald Trump's signing of human rights legislation on the Hong Kong protests last week. (AP) RS RS