Twitter Locks Out Chinese Embassy in U.S. Over Post on Uighurs

  • Account locked after tweet violated ‘dehumanization’ policy
  • China says it’s ‘puzzled’ over why Twitter restricted account
Twitter Locks Out Chinese Embassy to U.S. Over Uighur Post
Lock
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Twitter Inc. has locked the official account for the Chinese Embassy to the U.S. after a post that defended the Beijing government’s policies in the western region of Xinjiang, where critics say China is engaged in the forced sterilization of minority Uighur women.

The tweet, which said Uighur women were no longer “baby-making machines,” was originally shared on Jan. 7, but wasn’t removed by Twitter until more than 24 hours later. It has been replaced by a label saying, “This tweet is no longer available.” Even though Twitter hides tweets that violate its rules, it still requires the account owner to manually delete the post in order to regain access.