Australia must not compromise on human rights as it improves its relationship with China because “the truth must be told”, a minister from the Tibetan government in exile has said during a visit to Canberra. Norzin Dolma, a minister of the Central Tibetan Administration based in Dharamshala in India, met Australian MPs from across the political spectrum on Thursday to warn against a “quiet diplomacy” approach to “gross human rights abuses” and “brutal suppression” in Tibet. She also urged the Australian government to use its new Magnitsky-style sanctions laws to…
Tag: Human rights
What do we know about forced labour in Xinjiang?
Xinjiang, a region of north-west China that is about three times the size of France, is an area that has become associated around the world with detention camps. The facilities are referred to by Beijing as vocational education and training centres. But critics say they are used to indoctrinate Uyghurs and other minority ethnic groups with the goal of transforming them into devotees of the Chinese Communist party. After unrest in the region and a series of riots and violent attacks by Uyghur separatists between 2014 to 2017, the Chinese…
Gay Games delight Hong Kong amid China’s growing hostility to LGBTQ+ community
After months of pandemic-related delays, Asia’s first Gay Games was held in Hong Kong last week, with nearly 2,400 athletes competing. At the opening ceremony, Regina Ip, the convenor of Hong Kong’s executive council, said the competition represented the city’s commitment to “equal opportunity and non-discrimination”, and praised Hong Kong’s courts for the “numerous judgments” handed down in favour of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade. This was met with bemusement by activists and lawyers, who pointed out that Ip’s government has opposed each of those judgments, losing in…
‘We don’t feel safe here’: Hongkongers in UK fear long reach of Chinese government
Ah Man*, 28, was forced to leave Hong Kong at the end of 2020 after being arrested at the height of the pro-democracy protests, when millions took to the streets in defiance of the growing influence of Beijing. But the UK has felt anything but a safe haven for the former Hongkonger after a string of incidents involving Chinese activists. In 2021, pro-democracy campaigners were reportedly attacked in Chinatown, central London; again in 2022 outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester; and once more this summer in Southampton. “Of course there…
You may be eating fish caught and processed by Uyghur forced labor | Kenneth Roth
Last month, Chinese diplomats sent letters – really threats – to discourage attendance at an event on the sidelines of the UN general assembly spotlighting Beijing’s persecution of Uyghur and other Turkic Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region. The childish tactic backfired, heightening media interest, but it highlighted the lengths to which Beijing will go to cover up its repression. A recent exposé on the persecution of Uyghurs should reinforce our determination to address these crimes against humanity. A four-year investigation by the Outlaw Ocean Project pulls back the curtain on…
Campaigners aim to lower support for China on UN human rights council
An effort is under way to drive down the Chinese vote at the UN human rights council this week in an attempt to show continuing worldwide disapproval of its human rights record. The elections on to the world’s premier human rights body take place by secret ballot on Tuesday with China guaranteed a seat in one of the uncontested seats from its region, but human rights campaigners are working to lower the level of Chinese support to show pressure on the country is not dissipating. Russia is also seeking to…
Chinese authorities reportedly sentence Uyghur professor to life in prison
A leading Uyghur professor who disappeared six years ago is reported to have sentenced to life in prison by Chinese authorities for “endangering state security”. Rahile Dawut, 57, who specialises in the study of Uyghur folklore and traditions and is considered an expert in her field, lost an appeal over her sentence after being convicted in 2018 on charges of promoting “splittism”, according to the US-based Dui Hua Foundation human rights group. The group has spent years trying to locate Dawut. In a statement, it said it had received the…
UK solar could be ‘dumping ground’ for products of Chinese forced labour, ministers warned
The UK risks becoming a dumping ground for the products of forced labour from Xinjiang province in China if it rejects reforms by members of the foreign affairs select committee with cross-party support, ministers have been warned. An amendment to the energy bill, due to be debated on Tuesday, would require solar energy companies to prove their supply chains are free of slave labour. The Xinjiang region is the source of 35-40% of the world’s solar-grade polysilicon, the key raw material in the solar photovoltaic supply chain. The amendment to…
Travel firms urged to halt trips to Uyghur region over China rights abuses
Uyghur advocates have called on western tourism companies to stop selling package holidays that take visitors through Xinjiang, where human rights abuses by authorities have been called a genocide by some governments. The request comes as China reopens to foreign visitors after the pandemic, and as its leader, Xi Jinping, calls for more tourism to the region. A report by the US-based Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), released on Wednesday, said western tourism to the region risked supporting the normalisation of Chinese government policies that were “intended to destroy the…
James Cleverly says he has raised human rights concerns with China – video
The UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, who is in China to meet government officials, has faced criticism from members of the Conservative party who want a tougher line against a state that has imposed sanctions against several British MPs and peers for speaking out about human rights violations in the country. Speaking to Sky News, Cleverly said he had raised rights issues with Chinese officials. Pressed over violations in Xinjiang province, he said: ‘I’ve had a number of conversations with senior representatives of the Chinese government, and I have raised…