Category Archives: Uyghurs

Where is New Zealand’s ‘values-based’ foreign policy when it comes to the Uyghurs? | Guled Mire

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Other small nations also feel vulnerable to Chinese aggression but it hasn’t stopped them speaking out over the Uyghur genocide

After the Christchurch terror attacks, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern donned a hijab as she comforted the relatives of the 51 Muslims who were killed simply for practising their faith. The image spread across the world and she was lavished with international praise.

Yet her apparent turning away from the active erasure of China’s Uyghur Muslim minority population may undo that reputation. On Wednesday, New Zealand’s parliament backed away from calling what is happening in Xinjiang a “genocide,” opting instead for the watered-down language of “human rights breaches”.

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EU ‘suspends’ ratification of China investment deal after sanctions

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Massive trade agreement stalls after tit-for-tat sanctions prompted by Chinese policy in Xinjiang

The European Commission has said that efforts to ratify a massive investment deal with China have been in effect suspended after tit-for-tat sanctions were imposed over China’s treatment of its Uyghur population in March.

“We now in a sense have suspended … political outreach activities from the European Commission side,” said the commission’s executive vice-president, Valdis Dombrovskis, on Tuesday. He said that the current state of relations between Brussels and Beijing was “not conducive” for the ratification of the deal, which is known as EU-China comprehensive agreement on investment.

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New Zealand draws back from calling Chinese abuses of Uyghurs genocide

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Parliament will not debate motion and will instead discuss rights abuses in more general terms

New Zealand’s parliament will not debate a motion that would label the abuses of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang, China, as acts of genocide.

Parliament opted instead on Tuesday to water down the language, and discuss concerns about human rights abuses in the region in more general terms.

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Revealed: UK solar projects using panels from firms linked to Xinjiang forced labour

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Investigation finds up to 40% of UK solar farms were built using panels from leading Chinese companies

Solar projects commissioned by the Ministry of Defence, the government’s Coal Authority, United Utilities and some of the UK’s biggest renewable energy developers are using panels made by Chinese solar companies accused of exploiting forced labour camps in Xinjiang province, a Guardian investigation has found.

Confidential industry data suggests that up to 40% of the UK’s solar farms were built using panels manufactured by China’s biggest solar panel companies, including Jinko Solar, JA Solar and Trina Solar.

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Yemen, Myanmar and George Floyd: human rights this fortnight in pictures

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A roundup of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Cambodia to Peru

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UK MPs declare China is committing genocide against Uyghurs in Xinjiang

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Vote does not compel government to act but marks further decline in relations with China

British MPs voted to declare that China is committing genocide against the Uyghur people in Xinjiang province.

The motion passed on Thursday does not compel the government to act but is likely to mark a further decline in relations with China.

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Campaigners call for global response to ‘unprecedented’ oppression in Xinjiang

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Human Rights Watch urges more coordination by governments to tackle China’s treatment of Turkic Muslims

The Chinese government is committing crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, where it has escalated its oppression of Turkic Muslims to unprecedented levels, Human Rights Watch has said, as the NGO called on governments to take direct action against officials and companies that profit from labour in the region.

HRW also recommended the EU delay ratifying its recent trade agreement with China until forced labour allegations were investigated, victims compensated, and there was “substantial progress toward holding perpetrators to account”.

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Sanctions only escalate tensions. It’s time to tackle the Uyghurs’ plight differently | David Brophy

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The west needs to make a credible case that its opposition to China’s policies is not geopolitical manoeuvring

“Wholly counterproductive”, was how Newcastle academic Joanne Smith Finley described China’s sanctions on her, along with a series of British politicians and lawyers, as punishment for their advocacy for the Uyghurs. That was putting it mildly. But is it the case that western sanctions on China will be, by contrast, productive? Sadly, that seems unlikely.

International outrage at China’s policies of incarceration and social coercion in Xinjiang continues to grow. As someone who has been engaged with the region for two decades, I see that as much needed. But it’s crucial the energy being generated is put to good use. The gloves may be off, but what is the strategy?

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China launches musical in bid to counter Uyghur abuse allegations

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Beijing is attempting to draw attention away from reports it is holding at least one million in Xinjiang internment camps

A new state-produced musical set in Xinjiang inspired by the Hollywood blockbuster “La La Land” has hit China’s cinemas, portraying a rural idyll of ethnic cohesion devoid of repression, mass surveillance and even the Islam of its majority Uyghur population.

China is on an elaborate PR offensive to rebrand the north-western region where the United States and other western nationals and human rights groups say genocide has been inflicted on the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.

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‘Wings of Song’: China launches ‘idyllic’ musical set in Xinjiang – video

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A new Chinese state-produced musical set in Xinjiang portrays a rural idyll of ethnic cohesion devoid of repression, mass surveillance and even the Muslim religion of its majority Uyghur population. The musical appears intended to culturally reframe the debate on the region. Western countries, including the US and UK, have imposed sanctions on Chinese officials they say are involved in the mass interment of up to one million Uyghur Muslims.

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