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Governor of Xinjiang: UK Visit
09 February 2023
Lead MP
Leo Docherty
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
Foreign AffairsScience & Technology
Other Contributors: 16
At a Glance
Leo Docherty raised concerns about governor of xinjiang: uk visit in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
The Minister of State for Asia at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced that the Chinese Governor of Xinjiang may visit the UK but has not been invited by the UK Government or FCDO. He emphasised that if the governor does come to the UK without a visa, officials would be prepared to meet him solely to condemn China's actions in Xinjiang and raise human rights concerns. The minister highlighted the UK’s role in leading international efforts against China on this issue since 2019, including sanctions and raising concerns at high levels in Beijing. He assured that the UK will continue to emphasise its stance on human rights violations in Xinjiang.
Chingford and Woodford Green
Question
The shadow minister criticised the Government's stance on the potential visit of Erkin Tuniyaz, governor of Xinjiang, calling it a weak response to severe human rights abuses. He pointed out that over 1 million Uyghurs and other minorities have been detained in the region under Tuniyaz’s tenure and called for stronger sanctions against him and his superior Chen Quanguo.
Minister reply
The Minister responded by acknowledging the sincerity of Duncan Smith's concerns while defending the FCDO's approach to using potential meetings as opportunities to condemn China's actions. He stated that they invited UK human rights groups to send a strong message about repression in Xinjiang.
Catherine West
Lab
Hornsey and Friern Barnet
Question
The hon. Member inquires about the planned visit of Chen Quanguo, the governor of Xinjiang, to the UK, expressing concern over human rights abuses in the region. She asks if the meeting is essential for UK-China relations, when Ministers were first made aware of the visit, and whether there will be a moral injury caused by allowing this individual into the country.
Minister reply
The minister responds that the engagement might send a strong message to Chen Quanguo about his involvement in Xinjiang governance. He states that FCDO officials were aware through usual channels and made a judgment that engaging with him was useful. The minister mentions that FCDO did not invite Erkin Tuniyaz, who is expected to travel on a diplomatic passport, but they will allow Uyghur human rights groups to express their views to this individual.
Alicia Kearns
Con
Rutland and Stamford
Question
The hon. Member expresses strong criticism of the Government's position on China, citing forced sterilisation, child concentration camps, and systematic rape in Xinjiang. She demands sanctions against Erkin Tuniyaz and Chen Quanguo, and asks why the UK is not introducing a sanctions regime for Tibet.
Minister reply
The minister responds that they are not inviting Erkin Tuniyaz to the UK, but rather expect him to travel on a diplomatic passport. He affirms that FCDO officials plan to extend invitations to Uyghur human rights groups so they can express their views.
Brendan O'Hara
SNP
Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber
Question
The hon. Member questions the utility of meeting Erkin Tuniyaz given previous failures to change Chinese behaviour regarding human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Minister reply
The minister explains that engaging with this individual allows for strong messages to be conveyed and that FCDO officials will facilitate meetings with Uyghur human rights groups.
Desmond Swayne
Con
New Forest West
Question
Sir, the Member asks if announcing Erkin Tuniyaz’s intention to travel is a provocation.
Minister reply
The minister affirms that it is an opportunity to send a robust message about unacceptable practices in Xinjiang.
John Cryer
Lab
N/A
Question
The hon. Member questions the effectiveness of current actions against China and asks if they suggest weakness.
Minister reply
The minister asserts that the UK has sanctioned individuals and made strong representations, adhering to a policy of robust pragmatism.
Robin Millar
Con
N/A
Question
The hon. Member asks why the UK is not showing leadership in holding China accountable like it did for Ukraine.
Minister reply
The minister responds that the UK seeks to lead on matters related to China and the Uyghur population but may take a different approach regarding sanctions.
Alistair Carmichael
Lib Dem
Orkney and Shetland
Question
The hon. Member suggests that meetings with such individuals should be aimed at their arrest and asks about the progress made through this strategy.
Minister reply
The minister explains that engagement aims to condemn China’s brutality and advocate for specific human rights activists.
Bob Blackman
Con
Harrow East
Question
The treatment of the Uyghur Muslims in China is absolutely outrageous—a genocide, and one that the whole House condemns. My hon. Friend is of course quite right that this individual is not sanctioned, but that prompts the question: why is he not sanctioned, given that he is the governor? I understand that the survivors of the camps have actually applied to the Attorney General for permission for him to be arrested on arrival. Will my hon. Friend take back to the Foreign Secretary the urgent need to review the number of people who are actually sanctioned?
Minister reply
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his questions and, indeed, for his long-standing interest. I am sure the Foreign Secretary will be taking note of these proceedings in the House today. We do not speculate about future sanctions, and we always keep these sorts of issues under constant review.
Gareth Thomas
Lab Co-op
Harrow West
Question
It would be helpful to understand exactly why this particular individual has not been sanctioned. Can the Minister give some more clarity on that point, not least because my constituents—and, I suspect, the constituents of everyone else in the House who has spoken or is going to speak on this urgent question—will be profoundly concerned about the level of human rights violations taking place towards the Uyghur community, for which this man appears to be very directly responsible?
Minister reply
I think colleagues will know that, when it comes to the metrics for such things, the judgment has been made that it is worthwhile maintaining the opportunity to engage with some of these sorts of individuals. Of course, all of these cases are kept under review. We will not speculate on future sanctions, but I think it reflects the approach of more engagement in order to deliver strong messages, rather than less, and therefore more sanctions.
Question
What is happening in Xinjiang is an absolute disgrace, and the whole House clearly condemns it. The Minister says that inviting this gentleman over—sorry; not inviting, but allowing this gentleman over—will send a strong message, but what message is going to be sent that has not already been sent to the Chinese? The Minister also said that the meeting will not happen in King Charles Street—at the FCDO—so where exactly will it be happening? In the spirit of democracy, openness and the freedom to protest we have in this country, will he tell us where it is, so that those who want to protest can actually go and protest outside this meeting?
Minister reply
This is not organised by the FCDO, and our expectation, with the oversight that Ministers have, is that directors might meet this individual. The details of that are yet to be confirmed, if indeed it does happen. I think the opportunity therein was that they would give very strong messages, including on individual cases of human rights activists imprisoned in Xinjiang, and that was therefore the utility of such a proposition.
Question
The strongest action, the most forthright message, or the robusto, would of course be for the Government to sanction this individual. That is the bottom line. Given how the Government are confronting this issue in Xinjiang, I fear for other parts of China. As a result of this soaking-wet response this morning, I fear even more for Hong Kong. The Government have been sitting on a sanctions report since a formal submission in November last year, calling for the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to involve himself in sanction moves against 16 individuals in China. When are the Government going to report back on that sanctions request?
Minister reply
I note the hon. Gentleman’s question and he makes a good point in drawing a comparison with Hong Kong. I will not comment from the Dispatch Box about future sanctions, but we note the content of that report.
Question
I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) on securing this urgent question. I hear what the Minister says about us taking a different approach, but what assessment is the FCDO making about whether that approach is working? Surely the fact that this individual is going to come to the United Kingdom, when we know they would not go to the United States, is evidence that the approach is not working and we need to rethink.
Minister reply
The Government’s approach is one of robust pragmatism, but we would always keep that under review and pay a great deal of attention to the actions of our allies.
Andrew Gwynne
Ind
Gorton and Denton
Question
I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am really struggling with the Minister’s thinking on this. On one hand he says that what is happening in Xinjiang is abhorrent, illegal under international law and a crime against humanity, but on the other hand he is facilitating meetings with the governor of that province. That is not a sustainable position, and it certainly does not hold China to account. When will the Government get a grip on this issue, finally and definitely stand up for human rights and against crimes against humanity, and tell China that this is not acceptable and the governor of Xinjiang is not welcome here?
Minister reply
We will continue to send those messages, and my expectation is that directors, were they to meet this individual, would be sending exactly those messages. More broadly, we will keep our approach under review at all times.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
The Minister knows how much I respect him, as we all do in this House, but his answers this morning have been incredibly disappointing. I have to say that—I know it may not be his Department to answer, and he has been given the job. Two years ago Parliament voted to declare the treatment of the Uyghur Muslims to be genocide. Erkin Tuniyaz has not only had direct involvement in those activities, but is one of the lead offenders, directly responsible for implementing mass detentions, forced sterilisations, sexual abuse, slave labour and even organ harvesting. A person responsible for such crimes should never, ever be welcome on British soil.
Minister reply
I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s question and I respect him enormously—he knows that. Of course we all share a deep sense of sorrow about the appalling abuses of human rights in Xinjiang, and that is at the core of everything we do in our advocacy for human rights. With regard to the current issue, of course we will keep this approach under review.
Shadow Comment
Iain Duncan Smith
Shadow Comment
The shadow minister criticised the Government's response as weak, highlighting severe human rights abuses and crimes against humanity in the Uyghur region of China. He cited satellite imagery confirming internment camps and testified reports indicating systematic sexual violence and torture within these detention centres. Duncan Smith urged for tougher sanctions similar to those imposed by the US and called on the UK Government to rescind any invitation extended to the Chinese Governor, sanctioning him along with other officials involved in crimes against humanity.
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