BANGKOK – A delegation from the Thai government will visit China this week to check on the welfare of dozens of Uighur refugees after their controversial deportation drew global condemnation and US travel sanctions on Thai officials.
Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will lead the delegation to Kashi city in Xinjiang, which will also include members of the media, government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said in a statement on March 16.
The March 18-20 visit is to follow up on concerns expressed by several countries about the welfare of the refugees, he said.
Thailand has defended its move to return 40 Uighurs to China in February, saying it has received assurances from Beijing over their safety and integration back into society.
The visit by Thai officials is part of a deal struck by Bangkok with the Chinese authorities when it agreed to send the Uighurs back after a decade in detention.
The US State Department on March 15 announced travel restrictions on an unspecified number of current and former Thai officials involved in the deportation of Uighurs.
The sanctions are part of a new policy aimed at combating China’s efforts to pressure governments to forcibly return Uighurs and others to China, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The US did not identify the Thai officials who will face visa restrictions. It said certain family members of the targeted individuals may also be subject to the measures.
China ties
Thai officials earlier described the Feb 27 deportation as the “best solution” to avoid a backlash from Beijing.
Thailand – a longstanding treaty ally of the US – has deepened its ties with China in recent years, with its Asian neighbour emerging as its largest trade partner and a key source of foreign investment.
The deportation followed Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s trip to China in February, where she met Chinese President Xi Jinping and pledged to deepen bilateral relations, including a joint crackdown on online scam operations impacting cross-border tourism.
The US travel restrictions came a day after the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning the deportation and calling on Thailand to halt any further forced returns of refugees to countries where their lives are at risk.
The lawmakers also urged Thailand to reform its controversial lese majeste law – which protects the royal family from criticism – and grant amnesty to parliamentarians and activists charged “under repressive laws”.
The tough stances adopted by the US and European Union pose a challenge for Ms Paetongtarn, whose administration has been seeking ways to minimise the effects on its economy of an intensifying trade war.
Thai officials are weighing imports of more US goods to cut a US$35 billion (S$47 billion) trade deficit with Washington and avoid potential reciprocal tariffs, while trying to wrap up a free-trade pact with the EU.
China faces international pressure over its treatment of the Uighurs, a Muslim group that lives in the north-western Xinjiang region.
The US and other nations have accused Beijing of subjecting them to forced labor in detention centres, and transfer programmes that remove them from their homes in rural areas to work in factories. China has denied the accusations.
The group sent back to Xinjiang in February was the last of hundreds of Uighurs who fled China in 2014 and were detained by Thailand’s then-military government.
The administration returned 109 Uighurs to China the following year and resettled some in Turkey.
Thailand is planning more official delegations to ensure the safety of the Uighurs and address the concerns of other “civilized nations”, Mr Jirayu said, adding that the country fully complies with human rights. BLOOMBERG
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