Reuters-Biden removes sanctions from Chinese institute in push for fentanyl help
November 16, 2023 3 min 444 words
这则报道揭示了拜登政府在打击合成阿片类药物芬太尼方面的努力。取消对中国刑事科学研究院的制裁，旨在促使北京方面加大对合成阿片类药物流入美国的打击力度。报道中提到，此前由于对维吾尔族和其他少数族裔的指控，美国将该研究院列入制裁名单，阻止其从美国供应商获取大部分商品。此举引起人权活动家和共和党人的批评，指责拜登政府在维吾尔族问题上过于软弱。然而，面对合成阿片类药物引发的过量死亡危机，封锁芬太尼"前体"化学品成为华盛顿的当务之急。报道显示，在中美领导人的会晤中，双方同意成立一个在禁毒合作方面的工作组。这一决定在紧急解决芬太尼问题的同时，也引发了对美国对中国人权问题承诺的疑虑。报道中提到的人权律师Rayhan Asat强调了美国在面对中国侵犯人权问题时的法定义务，提出了一个问题：是否应该将解决一个问题置于解决种族灭绝问题之上？这一政策举措引发了对美国对外政策平衡的思考。
The Biden administration on Thursday removed the Chinese Ministry of Public Security's Institute of Forensic Science from a trade sanction list, part of a bid to convince Beijing to do more to halt the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States.
Washington put the institute on the list in 2020 over alleged abuses against Uyghurs and other minority groups, effectively barring it from receiving most goods from U.S. suppliers.
Former Chinese ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang last year described it as "shocking" that the U.S., which had expressed frustration over Beijing's lack of cooperation on fentanyl, would sanction an institute he described as essential to controlling the drug.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters had previously reported the institute would be removed as Biden sought more cooperation from Beijing on fentanyl in a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping on Wednesday in San Francisco at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
As part of the meeting, the men agreed to create a working group on counter-narcotics cooperation. The White House's National Security Council did not respond to a request for comment on what, beyond creating the working group, China pledged to do to stem shipments of the deadly narcotic.
The move was criticized by human rights activists and Republicans, who accused the Biden administration of going soft on Beijing over its treatment of Uyghurs.
Rayhan Asat, a human rights lawyer of Uyghur heritage, said she recognized the pressing issue posed by fentanyl, but that the U.S. decision raised questions about U.S. commitment to addressing China's rights abuses.
"The United States has a legal obligation, under federal law, to address atrocity crimes once they have been determined as such. The question then arises: should addressing one issue take precedence over addressing the genocide? Can't we address both?" she said.
Blocking fentanyl "precursor" chemicals has been a priority for Washington as the rate of overdose deaths involving the drug more than tripled from 2016 through 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The removal, according to a notice posted in the Federal Register, came after a "removal proposal" was received and reviewed, the department said in the posting, by a committee composed of representatives of the departments of Commerce, State, Defense, Energy, and sometimes, the Treasury.