China condemns declaration by UK parliament regarding Uighur genocide

[Stevicus]

UK parliament declares genocide in China's Xinjiang; Beijing condemns move

The Chinese embassy condemned the declaration and called it a "preposterous lie."

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s parliament called on Wednesday for the government to take action to end what lawmakers described as genocide in China’s Xinjiang region, stepping up pressure on ministers to go further in their criticism of Beijing.

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government again steered clear of declaring genocide over what it says are “industrial-scale” human rights abuses against the mainly Muslim Uighur community in Xinjiang. Ministers say any decision on declaring a genocide is up to the courts.

So far the government has imposed sanctions on some Chinese officials and introduced rules to try to prevent goods linked to the region entering the supply chain, but a majority of lawmakers want ministers to go further.


Lawmakers backed a motion brought by Conservative MP Nusrat Ghani stating Uighurs in Xinjiang were suffering crimes against humanity and genocide, and calling on government to use international law to bring it to an end.

The support for the motion is non-binding, meaning it is up to the government to decide what action, if any, to take next.

The Chinese embassy in the UK condemned the parliament’s move, calling on Britain to take concrete steps to respect China’s core interests and “immediately right its wrong moves”.


“The unwarranted accusation by a handful of British MPs that there is ‘genocide’ in Xinjiang is the most preposterous lie of the century, an outrageous insult and affront to the Chinese people, and a gross breach of international law and the basic norms governing international relations,” the embassy said in a statement dated Friday.

Meanwhile, the issue is being discussed in Lithuania's parliament, which the Chinese embassy there called a "farce."

Chinese embassy slams Uighur genocide talks in Lithuania as ‘farce’ - LRT

Beijing's embassy in Vilnius has condemned Thursday's human rights discussion at the parliament, which included topics on Uighur repressions that Lithuania is considering recognising as genocide.

"On April 22, the Seimas discussed the so-called human rights issue of Xinjiang in disregard of China's solemn position as well as facts and truth about Xinjiang," the Chinese embassy to Lithuania said in a statement.

"It is an anti-China farce choreographed by some anti-China individuals intended to smear China. The Chinese side firmly opposes and strongly condemns it,” it added.

During Thursday's discussion, Uighur representative Rayhan Asat said that over a million people are illegally imprisoned and subjected to forced labour in China.

They say at least one million people are being placed in re-education camps.

"At least one million people have been put into camps and still more illegally imprisoned in militarized jails, factories and schools. Every Uighur family is suffering the same thing, their crimes against humanity," the human rights lawyer said.

"The world can stop this atrocity before more tight measures are taken by the Chinese state," she said.

Scientists, artists, and minors including her brother are among those who have suffered from the Chinese regime, according to Asat.

The discussion on the human rights situation was organised by the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Žygimantas Pavilionis, its chairman, said the parliament considers human rights violations an important issue, irrespective of whether they are taking place in China, Belarus or Russia.

Human rights groups say at least a million Uighurs and other Turkic-speaking Muslims are being held in the so-called "re-education camps" in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Makes me wonder how many mass graves there are now with this Communist regime?

 

[sun rise]

Good for the UK. (And Australia in another story).