Tag: Uyghurs

HRW Urges Sanctions on Chinese Official

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Human Rights Watch is urging the British government and the European Union to “investigate and appropriately sanction” a visiting top Chinese official from Xinjiang. Erkin Tuniyaz, the Chinese Communist Party deputy secretary in Xinjiang and chairman of the Xinjiang government, is scheduled to attend meetings next week in London and on February 21 in Brussels. HRW said in a statement Friday that crimes against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims are rampant in Xinjiang. “The UK and EU should not be drawn into meetings with senior Xinjiang officials so that China…

Lawyer asks to prosecute Xinjiang governor in the UK

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A lawyer representing a Kazakh man who has alleged severe human rights violations perpetrated by the Chinese state has requested permission from the UK attorney general to prosecute a Xinjiang governor expected to arrive in Britain on Sunday. On Wednesday, the Foreign Office shocked cross-party opponents of the Chinese treatment of Uyghur people and other Turkic groups who called it “incomprehensible” that the Xinjiang governor, Erkin Tuniyaz – who has been sanctioned by the US – is planning to visit the UK next week. Tuniyaz, whom MPs allege has played…

Cross-party MPs shocked by Foreign Office talks with Xinjiang governor

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The Foreign Office has shocked cross-party opponents of the Chinese treatment of Uyghur groups by revealing that it has asked the Xinjiang governor for talks. MPs belonging to the inter-parliamentary alliance on China (Ipac) called it “incomprehensible” that “anybody within government would think it appropriate to meet with someone who has played a central role in the persecution of Uyghurs – crimes our own parliament has declared to be genocide”. According to an email from the Foreign Office, Erkin Tuniyaz – who has been sanctioned by the US – is…

Disney Removes Episode of Animated Comedy from Streaming Service in Hong Kong

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U.S. entertainment giant Disney has removed an episode of the animated situation comedy The Simpsons from its streaming service in Hong Kong because of a reference to forced labor camps in China. The episode, titled “One Angry Lisa,” which first aired in October in the United States, features a scene in which one of the main characters is taking part in a virtual exercise bike class with the instructor in front of a portrait of China’s iconic Great Wall. In the episode, the instructor says, “behold the wonders of China.…

Beijing Stands Firm Against Reports of Uyghur Detentions

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WASHINGTON —  Beijing on Friday accused U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken of propagating an “egregious lie” about Xinjiang in his remarks to the International Religious Freedom Summit. “This past November, I named a dozen nations as ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ because of their egregious violations of religious freedom, from Russian authorities … to the People’s Republic of China perpetrating an ongoing genocide against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs,” Blinken said Tuesday. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Blinken’s “remarks are contrary to the basic facts and deeply rooted” in ideological…

Canada votes to take in 10,000 Uyghur refugees amid Chinese pressure to force their return

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Canada’s parliament has unanimously passed a motion to take in 10,000 Uyghur refugees who fled China, but are now facing pressure to return. The vote on Wednesday builds on a February 2021 move by Canadian lawmakers to label Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in its north-western Xinjiang territory as genocide. Rights groups believe at least 1 million Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in internment camps in the region, where China is also accused of forcibly sterilising women and imposing forced labour. Tens of…

Uyghur Rights Group Fails in Legal Challenge Against UK Government

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LONDON —  A Uyghur rights group’s legal challenge against the British government for not investigating the import of cotton produced in the Chinese region of Xinjiang was dismissed by a London court Friday. The World Uyghur Congress, an international organization of exiled Uyghur groups, had taken legal action at London’s High Court against Britain’s Home Office, tax authority HMRC and the National Crime Agency. Judge Ian Dove said in a written ruling that he had dismissed the WUC’s case. Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, a mainly…

World Uyghur Congress loses legal challenge against UK authorities

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The World Uyghur Congress has said it is disappointed to have lost a legal challenge against UK authorities for not launching a criminal investigation into the importation of cotton products manufactured by forced labour in China’s Xinjiang province but would continue to fight for accountability. The WUC took the home secretary, HM Revenue and Customs and the National Crime Agency (NCA), to the high court, claiming an unlawful failure or refusal to investigate imports from Xinjiang, allegedly home to 380 internment camps used to detain Uyghurs and people from other…

VOA Interview: Uyghur Emigre Describes Life in China’s Xinjiang in 2022 

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washington —  A Uyghur man who calls himself Jamal left China in recent weeks and talked to VOA about life in Xinjiang in 2022. Fearing retaliation from China for talking to the media, the Uyghur man is using an assumed name in order to protect relatives who still live in Xinjiang. In a report released in August, the U.N. human rights office said China has committed serious human rights violations in Xinjiang. Human rights organizations have accused China of arbitrarily detaining Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities. There have also…

Uyghur News Recap: Dec. 2 – 9, 2022

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WASHINGTON —  Report: Automakers linked to Uyghur forced labor in China A report by a group of United Kingdom researchers found that the supply chain for the global auto industry is likely linked to Uyghur forced labor in China. Chinese security camera maker advertises ‘racial profiling’ feature despite ban in US and UK Chinese video surveillance camera maker, Hikvision, advertised its ethnicity recognition features to its European customers while blacklisted by the U.S. for allegedly being connected to China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups. Hikvision denies any…