Helen Goodman on Human Rights
in Xinjiang in British Parliament
Dr. Mozammel
Haque
Labour’s Shadow Foreign Office Minister, Rt.
Hon. Helen Goodman took part in the debate on Human Rights in Xinjiang at the British
Parliament. She said the more productive way forward for raising the issue of
our concern of human rights in Xinjiang is through European Union.
Rt. Hon. Alistair Carmichael
from Orkney and Shetland (LD) moved the issue on Xinjiang under
Human Rights to discuss and debate in the House of Commons, on 29 January
2019. He appreciated and acknowledged
the work in this area of various non-governmental organisations, including
Amnesty International, Christian Solidarity Worldwide—CSW—Human Rights Watch
and the World Uyghur Congress. He mentioned
“a remarkable 10-minute report by John Sweeney on “Newsnight” in August
2018 that first brought this issue to my attention; I am ashamed to say that I
knew nothing about it until that point. In that 10 minutes he described very
graphically the scale of what is happening in Xinjiang province and well
illustrated the human cost.”
Many Members of Parliament from both the
Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats and SNP party participated and debated
on this important, serious and high-profile debate – such as Helen Goodman (Lab),
Fiona Bruce (Con), Yasmin Qureshi (Lab), Hobhouse (LD), Lyn Brown (Lab), Afzal
Khan (Lab), Catherine West (Lab) and
many others.
Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) (Labour)
Labour’s
Shadow Foreign Office Minister, Rt. Hon. Helen Goodman congratulated the Rt.
Hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on securing this important
debate. She said, “We are extremely grateful to him, because it gives us an
opportunity to send a united message from this House to the Chinese Government
about the unacceptability of what is
happening in Xinjiang at the moment, and of our shared desire to see the
detention camps closed. We should make a reality of that commitment in the work
that we do with respect to the Uyghur community in Xinjiang.”
Labour’s
Shadow Foreign Office Minister Goodman mentioned at the beginning what the
other Members of Parliament said, in brief, on the issue of detention camps set up;
imprisoning about a million people; denial of people’s religious rights; human
rights issues and impact on families and children. “The Rt. Hon. Member for
Orkney and Shetland set out the fundamental problems with the detention camps
that have been set up, which we now believe are imprisoning about a million
people, perhaps more. The Hon. Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) made a
fearless speech; she is becoming well known for being fearless on human rights
issues. My hon. Friend the Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi)
described the denial of people’s religious rights. She gave a clear insight
into how that might feel for this minority. The hon. Member for Bath (Wera
Hobhouse) said that we should look for more reciprocity with the Chinese
Government. My hon. Friend the Member for West Ham (Lyn Brown) gave powerful
testimony and pointed to the important work undertaken by the voluntary sector.”
“The
Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham), who has been to Xinjiang several times,
said that it was difficult because Xinjiang is in a very closed part of China,
but that none the less we need to shine a light on the situation. The hon.
Member for Strangford spoke about Christians being persecuted. My hon. Friend
the Member for Lincoln (Karen Lee) raised important concerns about the use of
modern technologies to oppress people. My hon. Friend the Member for
Manchester, Gorton (Afzal Khan) asked how the Government would keep reporting
back to us. My hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Catherine
West) spoke about the impact on children; I am particularly grateful to her for
organising a meeting last summer at which we heard from academics who had
looked at satellite images, from refugees and from relatives of people who are
suffering,” she mentioned.
Rt Hon. Goodman, MP also said, “It is absolutely
clear that the situation in Xinjiang has deteriorated over the past four years.
It is beginning to emerge and become clear to the rest of the world that what
was suggested to be an attempt to prevent extremism and terrorism has morphed
horrendously into the systematic oppression of a whole ethnic minority, who are
being physically abused and psychologically indoctrinated. I am glad that the
Minister has answered a number of parliamentary questions that I have tabled
about Xinjiang; we know that Ministers have raised the matter and British
diplomats have been in Xinjiang and gathered mounting evidence about the
problem, but we can do more than tell the Chinese that we do not like the
situation.”
Goodman,
MP for Bishop Auckland raised the question- what can be done? and said,
“Clearly it is important that we maintain public condemnation of the treatment
of the Uyghur Muslims, and that we echo the call of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination for the Chinese authorities to shut down the re-education camps
and facilitate the immediate release of all detainees. It is clear that there
has been a lot of focus on work at the UN level; I do not know whether the
Minister has also discussed the matter with European colleagues, but I urge him
to do so. The Government have the opportunity to continue to challenge the
Chinese Government through intergovernmental forums. We would also like them to
initiate calls for UN access to Xinjiang, including access by the UN Human
Rights Council.”
Shadow
Foreign Office Minister Goodman also raised the issue of Asylum seekers. She
said, “Many of my colleagues have spoken about the problems that asylum seekers
face in this country. I know that that is a Home Office responsibility; none
the less, it is all very well to talk about human rights abuses—we need to
treat refugees well. I hope that the Minister will talk to the Home Office
about that.”
Goodman, MP, also raised the issue of Xinjiang
state Secretary and the use of Magnitsky powers for personal sanctions. She
mentioned, “An obvious candidate for such sanctions is the Xinjiang state Secretary, because it
is since his arrival in that part of China that the oppression has screwed down
in a particularly nasty way. Well, we have a lever now—let us use it. As well
as looking at the activities of particular companies, I would like the
Government to consider using export controls on surveillance technology that is
used by the Chinese Government to monitor and oppress Uyghur Muslims. They
should also review the operation of companies in Xinjiang. The simple message
is that we are horrified by this state of affairs and we must always prioritise
human rights over trading relations with the Chinese.”
The Minister
for Asia and the Pacific, Rt. Hon. Mark Field commended Rt. Hon. Member for
Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing this important debate. He
mentioned about his “visit to the region, not as a Minister, but on my very
visit to China some 16 years ago. I was
struck even then by the atmosphere of tension. There was clearly a very large
Muslim population in many of the towns and cities of the autonomous region
close to the Mongolian border, but there was also a sense—this was only a
couple of years after 9/11—that human rights issues were beginning to crowd in.
We have seen that happen with much more serious effect in recent years.”
The Minister Mark
Field also mentioned about the situation of religious minorities in the region.
He said, “The ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang have faced a variety
of restrictions on their freedom of religion and belief, freedom of speech and
freedom of association over several years—indeed, for decades past. Xinjiang’s
energy reserves and geopolitical significance are likely to be key factors in the
Chinese Government’s close involvement in the region: Xinjiang is home to
China’s largest gas fields, half of its coal deposits and an estimated 20% of
its oil reserves.”
“The situation has
deteriorated rapidly over the past two or three years, particularly—as the hon.
Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman) rightly pointed out—since the
appointment of a new regional party secretary, Chen Quanguo. He had previously
held the same position in Tibet, where he obviously earned his spurs as far as
the Chinese authorities were concerned,” the Minister mentioned.
Restrictive
and oppressive measures
Speaking
about the Xinjiang State Secretary Chen Quanguo and his activities, The
Minister for Asia and Pacific mentioned, “Mr. Chen has introduced many of the
techniques that he used in Tibet to monitor residents in Xinjiang. In fact, he
has developed them further and fused them with a system of “political
re-education camps”. However, we should also be clear that although Mr. Chen
has been a leading architect of the crackdown on the Uyghurs and other ethnic
minorities, culpability for the worsening situation does not lie with him
alone. His actions have been supported at the highest levels by the Chinese
leadership.”
“There are
credible and important reports by non-governmental organisations describing the
restrictive and oppressive measures being employed by the Chinese authorities,
and quoted those reports. Our own diplomats visited Xinjiang as recently as
December last year and their report painted a similarly bleak picture of the
oppression being suffered by over a million Uyghurs and other minorities,” said
the Minister Field.
Redefine Islam and Sinicise Uyghurs Culture
The Minister for Asia and the Pacific spoke about the specific measures
that the authorities are using in Xinjiang. He mentioned, “Among other things,
traditional and unexceptional expressions of religious observance are now
banned, from giving children religious names to having an “abnormal” beard or
wearing a veil; I think the hon. Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi)
went into some detail about some of the oppressive practices that are being
imposed on the local community.”
“As part of
an apparent attempt to redefine Islam and to sinicise the Uyghur culture,
extensive cultural restrictions have also been introduced, including the
restriction on the use of the traditional Uyghur language. Contravention of the
rules is likely to lead to detention and other punishments,” said the Rt. Hon
Mark Field.
Over 1 million Uyghur Muslims
held in extra-judicial camps
The Minister
for Asia and the Pacific also spoke about the Uyghurs and members of other
minorities with overseas connections. He mentioned, “Families are monitored
closely, including by Han Chinese officials, who they are obliged to host in
their homes for several days at a time. Outside the home, Uyghurs and other
minorities are reportedly watched closely through extensive use of
sophisticated technologies, as has been pointed out already, which is supported
by a heavy police presence.”
“However, as
has also been mentioned during the debate, what most concerns many of us is
that over 1 million Uyghur Muslims—more than 10% of the Uyghur population—and
other ethnic minorities have at one time or another been held in extra-judicial
camps, as my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) pointed out,”
Rt. Hon. Field said.
“It is not
known just how long each individual is detained, what chance they have of being
released or what the mechanism for release might be, or whether they can appeal
their detention. However, what is clear is that these detentions have split up
families, left many children effectively orphaned, as the hon. Member for
Hornsey and Wood Green (Catherine West) pointed out, and created an overbearing
culture of fear,” the Minister said and added,
“Much of
this activity was considered by the UN committee on the elimination of racial
discrimination in its report last August. It issued very detailed
recommendations, including that China should “Halt the practice of
detaining individuals who have not been lawfully charged, tried and convicted
for a criminal offence in any extra-legal detention facilities”.”
China’s
action is disproportionate
and indiscriminate
The Minister said, “As a number of Members
have pointed out, China’s response to the increasing expressions of
international concern was initially simply to deny the existence of these
camps. Later, it sought to brand them as education and training facilities, and
it justified them on the basis of counter-terrorism. As I think all of us know,
there have been incidents in the past, but this is a wholly unprecedented and
unwarranted over-reaction to that matter. China claims that the camps are a
necessary part of the policy to prevent extremism and those other countries
have no right to interfere in its internal affairs. The Chinese authorities
naturally have the right to address genuine security concerns in Xinjiang.”
“However, all the
evidence to hand suggests that their action is disproportionate and indiscriminate,
and it is a response that, as a number of Members have pointed out, will be
counterproductive in the long term, because it will exacerbate a whole range of
ethnic tensions,” Rt. Hon. Field said.
Untold suffering to millions of its citizens
The Minister for Asia and the
Pacific believed that China is causing untold suffering to millions of its own
citizens. He said, “It is also contravening its own constitutional provisions
on freedom of religion and indeed its obligations under the 1948 Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. The UK is, of course, deeply concerned about the situation in
Xinjiang. We believe strongly that everyone everywhere should enjoy equal
rights and protections under the law. That is why we are promoting and
defending human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief,
as a fundamental part of our own foreign policy.”
“Despite that co-operation, and
notwithstanding our deep and strong relationship with China, we must and will
have no hesitation about raising these issues of concern. Realistically, doing
that at the UN Security Council will not have a great impact. Therefore, doing
it in Geneva and through the European Union, as the hon. Member for Bishop
Auckland rightly pointed out, is the more productive way forward,” said Rt.
Hon. Field.
The Minister
for Asia and the Pacific concluded saying, “The situation in
Xinjiang is one of the most serious areas of human rights concerns in relation
to our relationship with China.”
