China sanctions British MPs in response to criticism of Uighur treatment

China has hit UK institutions and MPs, including former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, with sanctions in a tit-for-tat response to UK action over the treatment of Uighur Muslims.

Britain, the US, Canada and the European Union slapped sanctions on Chinese officials deemed responsible for human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region, in a coordinated action on Monday.

China’s expected retaliation came in a statement that said the UK’s move was “based on nothing but lies and disinformation.”

Insisting it was protecting its sovereignty, security and development interests, Beijing warned the UK to “not go further down the wrong path….otherwise, China will resolutely make further reactions”.

But Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said: “It speaks volumes that, while the UK joins the international community in sanctioning those responsible for human rights abuses, the Chinese government sanctions its critics.

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“If Beijing want to credibly rebut claims of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, it should allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights full access to verify the truth.”

Mr Duncan Smith, one of the leading China critics on the Tory benches, said he would wear the sanctions “as a badge of honour”.

In retaliation to the UK sanctions, “the Chinese side decides to sanction nine individuals and four entities on the UK side that maliciously spread lies and disinformation,” the statement said.

Also n the list are Tory MPs Tom Tugendhat, Neil O'Brien, Tim Loughton and Nusrat Ghani, Labour peer Helena Kennedy, Liberal Democrat peer David Alton, and Geoffrey Nice, Joanne Nicola Smith Finley, the China Research Group, Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, Uyghur Tribunal, and Essex Court Chambers.

“As of today, the individuals concerned and their immediate family members are prohibited from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao of China, their property in China will be frozen, and Chinese citizens and institutions will be prohibited from doing business with them. China reserves the right to take further measures,” said the statement.

Mr Duncan Smith, an MP and former leader of the Conservative party, said he will bear China’s anger as a badge of honour.

“It’s our duty to call out the Chinese Govt’s human rights abuse in #HongKong & the genocide of the #Uyghurs. Those of us who live free lives under the rule of law must speak for those who have no voice. If that brings the anger of China down on me, I’ll wear that badge of honour,’ Mr Smith tweeted.

In addition to the UK, the US and the European Union have also imposed sanctions against Chinese individuals and entities. China has hit back with retaliatory sanctions against them as well.

On Thursday, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said during a news conference that the EU, on the basis of lies and disinformation, imposed unilateral sanctions on Chinese individuals and entity by using human rights issue in Xinjiang as a pretext.

“China has stated its stern position on this and has announced sanctions on relevant individuals and entities that severely harmedChina’s sovereignty and interests and maliciously spread lies and disinformation,” she had said.

Several international brands such as H&M and Nike are also facing a backlash in China over their decisions not to use cotton from Xinjiang, citing forced labour and abuse of Uighur Muslims in the region.