BEIJING – China approved a 1.2 billion-dollar aid package to Cambodia only two days after Phnom Penh deported Uighur Muslims who were seeking refugee status back to Beijing despite international criticism, including from the US.
"China thanked the government of Cambodia for assistance in sending back those people to China," Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said in a statement cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday, December 22.
"This represents cooperation by the two sides."
China and Cambodia signed 1.2 billion-dollar aid package on Monday, two days after Phnom Penh deported at least 20 Uighur Muslims seeking asylum back to Beijing.
But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Jiang Yu said denied any link between the Uighurs' deportation and the massive aid package.
"This aid has no strings attached. The relevant accusations against us are groundless," he said.
"China and Cambodia have maintained a comprehensive partnership of cooperation. And we have provided aid to Cambodia within our capacity."
The Uighurs fled China into Cambodia following deadly ethnic violence in the north-western province of Xinjiang in July, which left at least 197 people dead and 1,600 wounded.
Xinjiang and its Uighur Muslims, a Turkish-speaking minority of more than eight million, continue to be the subject of massive security crackdowns.
Muslims accuses the government of settling millions of ethnic Han in their territory with the ultimate goal of obliterating its identity and culture.
Beijing views the vast region as an invaluable asset because of its crucial strategic location near Central Asia and its large oil and gas reserves.
Criticism
The deportation of the Uighurs to China, where they are likely to face torture, continued to drew international flak.
"I am dismayed by the deportation from Cambodia of Uighur asylum seekers to China," Christophe Peschoux, representative of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, wrote in The Phnom Penh Post on Tuesday.
He said Cambodia was "obviously under pressure" when they overturned initially strong assurances that they considered the Uighurs asylum seekers.
"This deportation is all the more disturbing in a country that has known massive persecution during the wars and the Khmer rouge regime, and which knows all too well the price and value of refugee protection."
Exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer said Cambodia's decision was "no doubt influenced by enormous Chinese pressure, backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in aid".
"Governments of countries neighboring China are reluctant to take any action that would displease Chinese authorities, leaving Uighurs nowhere to flee."
"China thanked the government of Cambodia for assistance in sending back those people to China," Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said in a statement cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday, December 22.
"This represents cooperation by the two sides."
China and Cambodia signed 1.2 billion-dollar aid package on Monday, two days after Phnom Penh deported at least 20 Uighur Muslims seeking asylum back to Beijing.
But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Jiang Yu said denied any link between the Uighurs' deportation and the massive aid package.
"This aid has no strings attached. The relevant accusations against us are groundless," he said.
"China and Cambodia have maintained a comprehensive partnership of cooperation. And we have provided aid to Cambodia within our capacity."
The Uighurs fled China into Cambodia following deadly ethnic violence in the north-western province of Xinjiang in July, which left at least 197 people dead and 1,600 wounded.
Xinjiang and its Uighur Muslims, a Turkish-speaking minority of more than eight million, continue to be the subject of massive security crackdowns.
Muslims accuses the government of settling millions of ethnic Han in their territory with the ultimate goal of obliterating its identity and culture.
Beijing views the vast region as an invaluable asset because of its crucial strategic location near Central Asia and its large oil and gas reserves.
Criticism
The deportation of the Uighurs to China, where they are likely to face torture, continued to drew international flak.
"I am dismayed by the deportation from Cambodia of Uighur asylum seekers to China," Christophe Peschoux, representative of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, wrote in The Phnom Penh Post on Tuesday.
He said Cambodia was "obviously under pressure" when they overturned initially strong assurances that they considered the Uighurs asylum seekers.
"This deportation is all the more disturbing in a country that has known massive persecution during the wars and the Khmer rouge regime, and which knows all too well the price and value of refugee protection."
Exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer said Cambodia's decision was "no doubt influenced by enormous Chinese pressure, backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in aid".
"Governments of countries neighboring China are reluctant to take any action that would displease Chinese authorities, leaving Uighurs nowhere to flee."
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