Washington [US], August 18 (ANI): China's communist government is responsible for 'genocide and crimes against humanity' targeting ethnic and religious minorities, according to the US State Department's annual human rights report, as cited by The Washington Times (TWT).

The document highlighted 'serious human rights concerns' including credible evidence of arbitrary killings, enforced disappearances, torture, degrading treatment, involuntary medical and psychological practices, and mass detentions.

Since 2017, more than one million Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim groups have been held in internment camps and prisons without due process, it noted.

In addition to those detained, an undisclosed number of individuals have been subjected to 're-education' programs.

The report also pointed to incidents of transnational repression, where China targeted individuals outside its borders.

The State Department outlined sweeping restrictions on free expression, media, and online platforms. Journalists, lawyers, activists, and dissidents often face arbitrary arrests and prosecutions. Religious freedom remains severely curtailed, with cases of coerced abortions and forced sterilisation still reported, despite China's recent shift toward encouraging population growth.

The report further accused Beijing of human trafficking, forced labour, and even 'the worst forms of child labour.'

It stated that the government has failed to hold accountable the officials involved in these systematic abuses. Deaths in custody, including in Xinjiang's mass detention camps, were also recorded.

Beijing has consistently rejected accusations of genocide against Uyghurs. The US government first declared China's actions in Xinjiang a genocide in 2021.

The report also noted China's ongoing use of coercive population control measures, including its three-child policy introduced in 2021.

In a section on war crimes and crimes against humanity, the report highlighted 'deradicalisation' programs in Xinjiang that have been used to detain more than one million Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Muslims.

These re-education centres are designed to enforce 'patriotism' while erasing ethnic, cultural, and religious identities.

Many detainees were later transferred to prisons following closed trials on questionable charges, leading to lengthy sentences.

The report accused the Chinese government of fostering institutional racism and systemic discrimination against minorities, particularly Uyghurs, while silencing grievances and cracking down on peaceful cultural and religious expressions.

Despite constitutional guarantees, freedoms of speech, press, and assembly remain tightly suppressed in China.

The Communist Party maintains rigid control over all media, print, broadcast, electronic, and digital, using them to spread state propaganda and party ideology.

Strict censorship is especially enforced around politically sensitive anniversaries such as the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 and China's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. (ANI)