EU proposes a ban on goods made by forced labour with China in it crosshairs
The United Nations concludes that the charges against China for crimes against humanity with respect to Turkic-speaking minorities in Xinjiang are “credible”. The proposed EU’s policy would be hard to enforce. Taiwan urges the EU to impose sanctions on China. Beijing prevents a visit by the EU’s intelligence chief.
Brussels (AsiaNews) – The European Commission today proposed a ban on goods produced by forced labour.
The measure, which must be first approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, does not officially target any specific country or sector, but it is clearly aimed at China.
The Commission’s decision comes just a few months after a majority in the European Parliament called on the EU to equip itself with the tools to respond to human rights violations committed by the Chinese government in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region.
In a report published on 31 August, the UN Human Rights agency deemed credible accusations made against China by experts, human rights groups, and international media over its treatment of indigenous Turkic-speaking Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
One of the charges against Chinese authorities is placing up to two million Uyghurs in internment camps and forcing them to work.
China has always denied such accusations, claiming that the camps in Xinjiang are vocational training facilities, part of a plan to reduce poverty and fight terrorism and separatism.
Since June, a US law bans imports from Xinjiang in the absence of proof that local goods are not made by forced labour.
The proposed EU rule would be less draconian. The burden of proof would be w/ EU and national authorities, which can request access to the information and data from importers.
According to human rights groups, such an approach is toothless, and will anger the Chinese, who are just waiting to see if the EU takes steps to protect the Union from commercial threats from an external country, like China’s boycott of Lithuania, because of its overture to Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Taiwan is pressuring the EU to adopt sanctions to dissuade China from invading the island, which Beijing considers a “rebel” province.
Meanwhile, the Politico Europe newspaper reported that EU intelligence chief José Casimiro Morgado cancelled a "secret” visit to Taiwan after China found out about it.
.png)
31/12/2020 08:00
