The United States has added 11 more Chinese companies to its “blacklist” over their alleged involvement in the oppression of Uyghur Muslims and other Muslim ethnic minorities within China. With their inclusion on the “blacklist,” the 11 companies can no longer purchase American technology without a special license.
Nine of these Chinese companies were added to the US list for allegedly subjecting Uyghur Muslims to forced labor. These companies are OFilm Group, Changji Esquel Textile, Hefei Bitland Information Technology, Hefei Meiling, Hetian Haolin Hair Accessories, Hetian Taida Apparel, KTK Group, Nanjing Synergy Textiles and Tanyuan Technology.
According to the US Department of Commerce, two other Chinese companies, Xinjiang Silk Road BGI and Beijing Liuhe BGI, were blacklisted for conducting genetic analyses that were used to further suppress Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.
“Beijing actively promotes forced labor and abusive DNA collection and analysis to suppress its citizens,” said US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
The US argues that this move on its part will ensure that its goods and technologies are not used for the Chinese Communist Party's heinous actions against defenseless Muslim minority populations.
OFilm is reportedly a strategic partner and supplier to various technology companies including Acer, ASUS, Amazon, Dell, HP, HTC, Huawei, Lenovo, LG, Meizu, Microsoft, Oppo, Samsung, Sony, Vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE, according to a report published in March.
The same report said that OFilm produced key components for the cameras of some iPhone.
Shortly after the report was released, LG distanced itself from OFilm and denied any ties to any of the factories mentioned in the report.
“LG Electronics expects all of its suppliers to comply with our supplier code of conduct, which is very clear about our stance on forced labor. LG Electronics has no direct relationship with any company named OFilm,” the company said.
Meanwhile, Hefei Bitland, one of the Chinese companies also added to the blacklist, says on its website that it works with Google, Haier, Hisense, HTC, HP and Lenovo.
China has been repeatedly accused of mistreating Uyghur Muslims and other Muslim minorities, with numerous reports alleging that Chinese authorities monitor the movements of these people. There have also been reports of other human rights abuses, such as installing spyware on Uyghur phones and placing Muslims in “re-education” camps.
Before these latest sanctions, the US had blacklisted 37 other Chinese companies for Xinjiang-related violations. Other major Chinese tech companies that have been blocked by the US include Huawei and ZTE, as they are considered a threat to national security.
