The Twitter account of China’s US embassy has been locked after it tweeted in defence of Beijing’s policies in the Xinjiang region, Reuters reported on Thursday. Although it is not clear when Twitter took the action, the Chinese embassy’s account has not posted any new tweets since January 9.
Earlier in , the Chinese Embassy account, which goes by the handle Chinese Embassy in US, tweeted that Uighur women were no longer “baby making machines”. It cited a study reported by state-backed newspaper China Daily.
The tweet was removed by Twitter and replaced by a label stating that it was no longer available. Twitter said the post violated the US social media platform’s policy against “dehumanisation”.
“We’ve taken action on the Tweet you referenced for violating our policy against dehumanisation, where it states: We prohibit the dehumanisation of a group of people based on their religion, caste, age, disability, serious disease, national origin, race, or ethnicity,” a Twitter spokesperson said on Thursday.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying on Thursday said the move has left them confused, reported Reuters. Hua added that the Chinese authorities were concerned by the news.
Beijing has faced international condemnation for its alleged treatment of the members of the Muslim community. It has, however, repeatedly denied the allegations.
According to the United Nations, at least 10 lakh ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim communities have been detained in camps in the Xinjiang province, to forcibly stop them from following Islamic traditions and integrate them into the majority Han population. However, China claims it is providing vocational training and discouraging religious extremism.
In September, the United States had blocked the import of certain products from certain manufacturing facilities in northeast China over their suspected use of forced labour by Uighurs. The US, the United Kingdom and Canada had in August expressed concerns about religious oppression in China as well as Pakistan during a meeting on the safety of religious minorities in armed conflict.
Barcelona’s footballer Antoine Griezmann had in December said he was ending his sponsorship contract with Huawei over reports the Chinese telecom company was involved in the surveillance of Uighur Muslims. In the same week, Mesut Ozil, a German footballer of Turkish origin, had expressed support for Uighurs in Xinjiang and criticised Muslim countries for their failure to speak up for them.
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