August 2020
Dear Constituent,
Thank you for writing to me about the Chinese Government and Uyghur Muslims. I have read your email carefully and noted the key points that you raise. You will be pleased to know that I have been raising these issues strongly over many months now.
I share your concerns about the appalling human rights situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese Government's deepening crackdown on Uyghur Muslims, including the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in “political re-education camps” and reports of birth rate suppression.
I welcome that the UK regularly raises human rights concerns with China, including on the treatment of religious and ethnic minorities. The Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, has spoken with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi about these matters.
I join my colleagues in Government in urging China to implement important UN recommendations to end the practice of extra-judicial detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, and to allow UN observers unfettered access to the region.
The risk of the spread of Covid-19 in places of detention is a matter of concern in a number of countries around the world, including in China. The Government is aware of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom report on Covid-19 and will consider its findings carefully, as will I.
You may be interested to know that I have also recently written a detailed response about the situation in Hong Kong, which discusses human rights and the highly regrettable actions of the Chinese Government with regard to Hong Kong. To read this please see:
https://www.jonathanlord.co.uk/hong-kong-0
Thank you again for writing to me about these important matters.
With best wishes.
Kind regards,
Jonathan Lord MP
Member of Parliament for Woking