Pompeo calls China's treatment of Uighurs 'stain of the century'

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo on Thursday called China's treatment of its Uighur Muslim
minority the "stain of the century" and accused Beijing of
pressuring countries not to attend a U.S.-hosted conference on
religious freedom.
"China is home to one of the worst human rights crises of
our time; it is truly the stain of the century," Pompeo told the
final day of the international conference in Washington.
Pompeo said Chinese government officials had sought to
discourage countries from attending the three-day event he has
hosted.
"Is that consistent with the guarantee of religious belief
that is found directly in the Chinese constitution?" he asked.
Pompeo congratulated countries which had defied Chinese
pressure, while adding: "If you have declined to attend for the
same region, we take note."
Pompeo did not name any of the countries and the State
Department did not immediately respond to a request for details.
Pompeo's remarks came a day after U.S. President Donald
Trump met at the White House with victims of religious
persecution from countries including China, Turkey, North Korea,
Iran and Myanmar. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who has been a strong critic
of China, was also due to address the conference on Thursday
morning.
Nearly two dozen nations at the U.N. Human Rights Council
this month urged China to halt persecution of ethnic Uighurs in
its western region of Xinjiang, where U.N. experts and activists
say at least 1 million are held in detention centers.
The Trump administration has been weighing sanctions against
Chinese officials over their policies in Xinjiang, including the
Communist Party chief of the region, Chen Quanguo, but has held
back amid Chinese threats of retaliation. Relations between the United States and China are already
tense over a tit-for-tat trade war, with the United States
alleging that China engages in unfair trading practices.