The U.S. Commerce Department is sanctioning two Chinese companies and two Russian companies for human rights violations, according to an entity list
update to be published Dec. 11.
The four were technology companies that aided the Chinese communist regime and Russian government in the surveillance of persecuted populations, the U.S. government has determined.
According to the new filing, Beijing Zhongdun Security Technology Group “develops and sells products and services that enable China’s public security establishment to carry out human rights violations,” and Zhejiang Uniview Technologies “enables human rights violations, including high-technology surveillance targeted at the general population, Uyghurs, and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups. ”
Russian NtechLab and Technology Videoanalysis “develop and supply facial recognition software to the Russian government that uses these products and services to track and target peaceful protesters and activists.”
The update would prohibit exports to companies on the entity list. An aviation technology company and two Russian companies were also added to the list for enabling the Myanmar (Burma) military to carry out attacks on civilians.
The U.S. government has
blacklisted more than 100 Chinese
entities over the persecution of Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang under the 2022 Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).
The United States and other
international bodies have determined that the Chinese communist regime is committing serious human rights violations against ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang, including forced labor, arbitrary detention, and torture.
Xinjiang is home to 25 million people of various ethnicities, and reports of the Chinese regime’s
abuse of Uyghurs were brought to the United Nations’ attention as early as 2016. After international calls for an investigation, the U.N. undertook a year-long investigation in 2021, issuing a damning
report a year later. The United States has
declared the persecution a “genocide.”
Xinjiang produces the vast majority of China’s cotton, and some apparel brands have cut ties with suppliers in the region due to rising concerns about forced labor in clothing supply chains.
Beijing has announced retaliatory measures against entities that highlight the regime’s poor human rights record.
In September, Beijing announced an
investigation into PVH Group, which owns brands including Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, for alleged “discriminatory measures” against Xinjiang-sourced products.
In 2021, the Chinese regime
targeted about a dozen brands with a coordinated business and public opinion campaign after the brands made statements condemning forced labor. The
NBA was famously caught up in the scandal early on as many players had signed large endorsement deals with Chinese shoemakers manufacturing in Xinjiang, while other stars criticized their colleagues for remaining silent on the regime’s persecution of Uyghurs.
