China retaliates against U.S., Canada over Xinjiang human rights abuses sanctions
27 March 2021
China on Saturday announced new sanctions against individuals and entities in the U.S. and Canada in retaliation to Western penalties for human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims, according to Reuters.
Why it matters: The sanctions come after the U.S., U.K., European Union and Canada this week coordinated sanctions against Chinese officials deemed responsible for human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region.
- The State Department and several legislative bodies have recognized the abuses against Uyghur Muslims as genocide.
Details: Those sanctioned in the U.S. include Gayle Manchin, the chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), and Tony Perkins, the vice chair of USCIRF,
- China also sanctioned Canadian member of parliament Michael Chong and the Subcommittee on International Human Rights in Canada's House of Commons.
The big picture: China also retaliated against the EU on Monday, sanctioning 10 Europeans, according to Reuters.
- It placed sanctions on several U.K. individuals and entities on Thursday.
Go deeper:UN report: "Clear evidence" China is committing genocide against Uyghurs
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.