China: ‘Heartbroken’ Uyghur woman calls for ‘action’

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Members of the Royal Family and Tory ministers should send a strong signal to China and snub next year’s Winter Olympics unless Beijing allows a thorough United Nations investigation into allegations of atrocities in Xinjiang against the Uyghurs, the Labour Party has said. The absence of prominent British personalities on the stands in Beijing next year would prevent the UK from “handing a PR coup to Beijing”, Labour added.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy and Shadow Culture Secretary Jo Stevens led the charge, writing to their Government counterparts to demand “unfettered access” for the UN to conduct a probe into what is happening in Xinjiang.

The Labour MPs said: “We have consistently pressed the Government for more robust actions to address this appalling situation, including more extensive sanctions against senior officials responsible for what is taking place in Xinjiang and more robust measures against forced labour.

“We are now calling on you to use the occasion of the Games to press the case for unfettered UN access to Xinjiang to conduct a full, transparent and independent investigation.

“This has been repeatedly sought by the UK and other governments but has not yet been realised.

“If this is not granted, the UK Government should not send ministers, Royal Family members or senior representatives to participate in any official duties or ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics. 

“The Chinese Government will want the Games to be a diplomatic success.

“A political boycott by the UK and other states would send a strong signal of the deep global concern with the plight of the Uyghurs and prevent the Games being a PR exercise for the Chinese authorities.”

Ms Nandy went on accusing Chinese authorities of “genocide” with their actions against the Uyghurs.

She told Sky News: “We have got the Winter Olympics coming up at the end of this year and the Government at the moment is sleep-walking into a situation where they have issued very tough words about what is happening to the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.

“They say it is a crime against humanity, Parliament and we say that it constitutes genocide. 

“This is so serious that we cannot possibly roll out the red carpet and participate in what would be a major PR coup for the Chinese Government by sending representatives of the Royal Family and the Government to participate in the Winter Olympics.

“We should use this moment to say to the Chinese authorities, open up access to Xinjiang, allow UN inspectors in to see what is happening to a million Uighur people who are currently incarcerated there.

“And if you don’t do that, we won’t be participating in that opening ceremony and sending political representatives.”

The call for a boycott of the Winter Olympics has been backed by prominent Tory backbencher Tom Tugendhat. 

He told the Mirror: “It would be extraordinary to ask the Royal Family to represent the nation at an event hosted by a state after Parliament has declared it genocidal.”

Ms Nandy did not ask athletes to boycott the Olympics, suggesting it would be unfair to both the general Chinese population who have done no wrongdoings and the competitors who have been training for years.

The political boycott should take place if China doesn’t grant access to Xinjiang to UN inspectors by September 14, Labour said.

Members of the Royal Family traditionally attend the Summer and Winter Olympics.

Princess Anne, who made history by becoming the first member of the Royal Family to take part in the Games, attended the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018. 

As a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and President of the British Olympic Association she normally visits every Olympics.

The UK Government said earlier this year there was mounting evidence of human rights abuse in China.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in March evidence pointed to a “highly disturbing programme of repression” in Xinjiang, an autonomous region in northwest China.

The area is home to many ethnic minorities including Turkic Uyghur people, many of whom have allegedly been subjected to arbitrary detention in re-education camps, torture and forced sterilisation.

Citing satellite imagery, survivor testimony, official documentation and leaks from the Chinese Government, Mr Raab also told the Commons at the time the “evidence is clear as it is sobering” when it comes to what is happening in Xinjiang.

He described the situation lived by Uyghurs as the “largest mass detention of an ethnic or religious group since the Second World War”. 

As a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and President of the British Olympic Association she normally visits every Olympics.

The UK Government said earlier this year there was mounting evidence of human rights abuse in China.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in March evidence pointed to a “highly disturbing programme of repression” in Xinjiang, an autonomous region in northwest China.

The area is home to many ethnic minorities including Turkic Uyghur people, many of whom have allegedly been subjected to arbitrary detention in re-education camps, torture and forced sterilisation.

Citing satellite imagery, survivor testimony, official documentation and leaks from the Chinese Government, Mr Raab also told the Commons at the time the “evidence is clear as it is sobering” when it comes to what is happening in Xinjiang.

He described the situation lived by Uyghurs as the “largest mass detention of an ethnic or religious group since the Second World War”. 

Beijing has strongly denied these accusations, with Yang Xiaoguang, charge d’affaires at the Chinese embassy in London, saying in March: “There is no so-called genocide or forced labour or mass sterilisation or other things.

“We call them the lies of the century.”

Despite Mr Raab raising strong accusations against China over the living conditions for the predominant ethnic minority in Xinjiang, no decision has yet been made over the attendance of UK Government officials at the Olympics.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “The Government has been vocal in calling out the egregious human rights abuses being committed against the Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang, most recently at the UN Human Rights Council alongside more than 40 countries.

“At this stage, no decisions have been made about UK Government attendance at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.”  

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