Western fashion brands face pressure to declare their supply chains free from cotton that may be tainted by forced Uyghur labor, but in China, those declarations are getting them boycotted.
After the Communist Youth League of China resurfaced a letter from last year by Swedish fashion retailer H&M disavowing Xinjiang cotton over forced labor concerns, Chinese social media is in an uproar. H&M’s China business will likely suffer serious financial repercussions.
The Chinese and Russian foreign ministers condemned Western nations for “politicizing human rights issues” with sanctions. Beijing separately lashed out at “the West,” accusing at least half a dozen nations of hypocrisy and saying they had no right to lecture China.
Today, the European Union issued its first sanctions on China since 1989, condemning Beijing’s abuse of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Canada, Britain, and the U.S. also issued new Xinjiang-focused sanctions. Beijing immediately retaliated against the EU with sanctions of its own.
In a high-level meeting in Alaska, top U.S. officials confronted China about breaking international rules, saying Beijing was making the world “far more violent and unstable.” China shot back by accusing the U.S. of hypocrisy on a range of issues, including human rights.
As senior diplomats from the U.S. and China prepare to meet in Alaska tomorrow, expectations are extremely low. Meanwhile, the U.S. sanctioned 24 officials for having undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy, and the EU reportedly approved sanctions in response to human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
According to a new Gallup poll, 79% of Americans now have an unfavorable view of China — more than right after the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989. Pew, meanwhile, found that nine-in-ten Americans see China as a competitor or enemy.
For 16 hours, people in a Clubhouse room called “Is there a concentration camp in Xinjiang?” spoke freely, centering the discussion on those most harmed by state violence. Even while it was happening, the conversation felt historic — and worth preserving.
Dedicated to her hometown of Shaya, Xinjiang, director Wang Lina's debut uses non-professional actors to tell a poetic story about three young Uyghur children and their experiences with poverty, Sinicization, and a way of life vanishing before their eyes.