BEIJING, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- China has called on the United States not to provide a platform for separatists, after a Chinese Muslim leader reported abuses at a Congressional hearing.
Rebiya Kadeer, a member of China's Uighur minority from the northwest province of Xinjiang, told the hearing that Beijing was using the U.S.-led war on terror to persecute her people, Radio Television Hong Kong reported Thursday.
She said the government arrested and tortured Chinese Muslims and forced women to have abortions.
Kadeer is a former millionaire businesswoman who spent six years as a political prisoner in China. She was released and deported to the United States in March after U.S. officials intervened on her behalf.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday that Kadeer's statements proved she was closely connected with the outlawed East Turkestan movement. He rebuked the United States for allowing her to voice her "separatist" views.
