China hits back at US over visa sanctions

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA(AA) - China on Wednesday hit back at the US over its plan to enforce visa restrictions on Chinese officials over alleged assimilation of Tibetan children, asking Washington to "reflect on itself."

"The US should reflect on itself instead of acting as a self-proclaimed judge, waving the baton of human rights to wantonly interfere in the internal affairs of other countries," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin was quoted as saying by local English daily Global Times.

The US announced on Tuesday it will impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials for their alleged involvement in the "forcible assimilation of more than one million Tibetan children in government-run boarding schools.”

"These coercive policies seek to eliminate Tibet’s distinct linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions among younger generations of Tibetans," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Wang said that over 4.7 million Native Americans have been brutally massacred throughout American history, and "the US armed aggression has caused the deaths of millions of people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria in recent years.”

Tibet joined China in 1951 after a brief uprising, which Beijing called a “peaceful liberation."

The US repeatedly pressed Chinese authorities to respect religious freedom and the language of Tibetans while Beijing accused the US of interfering in its internal affairs.