The UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has accused China of “gross and egregious” human rights abuses against its Uighur population and said sanctions against those responsible cannot be ruled out.
“Reports of forced sterilisation and wider persecution of the Muslim group were “reminiscent of something not seen for a long time”, he told the BBC.
Chinese Ambassador to the UK said talk of concentration camps was “fake”.
Liu Xiaoming told the BBC that the Uighurs received the same treatment under the law as other ethnic groups in his country.
This comes as drone footage appears to show Uighurs being blindfolded and led to trains, and which has been authenticated by Australian security services. The Ambassador claims he “did not know” what the video was showing and noted “sometimes you have a transfer of prisoners, in any country”.
“There is no such concentration camps in XinJiang” he added. “There’s a lot of fake accusations against China.”
It is widely believed that over one million Uighur people have been detained in what the Chinese has coined – “re-education camps” over the past few years.
China denied the claims at first, but relented in holding the measures as being necessary to counter terrorism, following separatist violence in the Xinjiang region.
The UK and USA’s reproach of China’s abysmal treatment of ethnic minorities are just the latest in a string of political backlash against the Chinese State and its credibility.
Just a few weeks ago, the UK banned the Chinese telecom giant, Huawei from its 5G development, further straining strained bilateral ties between the states. The ban came as UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson made an almost 360 degree re postulation from the original plan of merely reducing Huawei’s market share in the industry. The limitation of Huawei comes as fears arise over China’s capability to use Huawei equipment for mass surveillance.
If China was not having it bad enough, the Trump administration is also considering imposing a total ban on members of China’s sole governing political party, the Chinese Communist Party from entering the US.
Also, as a result of China’s deepening tendrils in Hong Kong and controversial imposition of security laws, the US retaliated this week by removing Hong Kong’s preferential trade law.
The US congress also voted in favour of imposing sanctions in retaliation to the security law. The UK and Australia are also offering Hong Kong people a path to permanent residence, following China’s clampdown on the independence of the old British colony.
This is not forgetting the whole issue with the South China Sea. The USA, In response to China’s continuous intrusions and hawkish posturing in the South China Sea has declared China’s actions “illegal” and that it wants “bullied” neighbours to stand their ground, ie Malaysia. A clash between the powers is almost inevitable at this point.
So, where does Malaysia stand in this geopolitical hellhole? Historically a neutral state, and even more so under Prime Minister, Tan Sri Najib Tun Razak; it remains to be seen how the PN government will deal with the increasing animosity and possibility of warfare between the World Powers.
Many have compared the current China-West relationship to the Cold War and the relationship between the West and the Soviet Union but I personally do not believe that is a fair comparison. Things are a whole lot more complicated now due mostly to globalisation.
The West never much relied on the Soviet Union as much as it does now with China.
How do you think Malaysia should position itself in this rapidly changing political environment? Let us know.
