FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2018, file photo, an Uighur woman shuttles school children on an electric scooter as they ride past a propaganda poster showing China's President Xi Jinping joining hands with a group of Uighur elders in Hotan, in western China's Xinjiang region. The Trump administration, locked in a trade war with China, is increasing the pressure on Beijing over what it says is the systematic oppression of ethnic minority Muslims. American officials hosted a panel Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly gathering in New York to highlight the plight of Uighurs, whose native land in Chinaâs far western Xinjiang province they say is a police state. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - The Trump administration, locked in a trade war with China, is increasing the pressure on Beijing over what it says is the systematic oppression of ethnic minority Muslims.
The U.S. State Department hosted a panel on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly gathering in New York to highlight the plight of Uighurs, whose native land in China's far western Xinjiang province they call a police state. Three Uighurs recounted the oppression and harassment they and others have faced at home and abroad.
China denies mistreating Uighurs. It says the camps are for vocational training and, since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it has defended any crackdowns in Xinjiang as necessary in the name of rooting out Muslim extremists.
American officials say they hope that by bringing the stories of Uighurs to a broader public, they will raise awareness of the severity of the oppression in Xinjiang and encourage other countries and the United Nations to pressure China.
In this Sept. 21, 2018, photo, Han Chinese ride in a tricycle passing by farmhouses at the Unity New Village in Hotan, in western China's Xinjiang region. The Trump administration, locked in a trade war with China, is increasing the pressure on Beijing over what it says is the systematic oppression of ethnic minority Muslims. American officials hosted a panel Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly gathering in New York to highlight the plight of Uighurs, whose native land in Chinaâs far western Xinjiang province they say is a police state. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
The Associated Press