UK-China Relations

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 26th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford) on setting the scene so well. Those who have intervened have undermined the issue.

I declare an interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief. I want to address one of the pressing moral imperatives of our time: the systematic persecution of religious minorities in China and its implication for the right to freedom of religion or belief. The Minister understands these issues incredibly well, and I know that her answers will encapsulate our thoughts, and particularly mine, in relation to freedom of religion or belief.

The human right to freedom of religion or belief is enshrined in international law, but China continues to trample on it with impunity. If we as a nation truly stand for these freedoms for all mankind—as we should and, I believe, as we do—we must take a firmer stance against China’s systematic campaign to erase religious identity.

The United Kingdom Government champion FORB through their envoy and through their position at the UN, the G7 and other multilateral bodies. The UK Government have a firm stance on human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. The Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, the Chancellor and, indeed, the Minister have all raised human rights issues with their Chinese counterparts, and those concerns must be amplified when discussing the blatant violation of religious freedoms in China. On behalf of all those persecuted and forgotten, I thank them for their efforts.

Today, I speak for those who have no voice—there are a great many in China at this moment. The Uyghur population in Xinjiang continue to face relentless oppression for their religious identity, and this targeting is part of a broader state-sponsored campaign against religious communities across China, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan and, indeed, any other area that potentially interests the Chinese Government. It is my hope that the international community will not allow such blatant violations of religious freedom to continue unchecked.

China has continued to crack down on any form of free expression in Hong Kong. Journalists, activists and religious leaders have been silenced, arrested and forced into exile. Churches and religious organisations have been pressured to align with the Communist party’s ideology, which is completely alien to, for instance, being a Christian—it just does not work out.

The systematic erosion of religious freedom and civil liberties in Hong Kong is yet another sign of the Chinese Communist party’s wider goal of imposing absolute ideological control over every aspect of life in China. There are confirmed reports that hundreds of thousands—possibly more—have been forced to renounce their faith in so-called re-education camps. Some Uyghur Muslims have been instructed to re-educate themselves, and forced to pledge loyalty to the Communist party and endure physical and psychological abuse.

If we in this House stand for FORB, and I believe we do, we must unequivocally condemn this assault on not only the Uyghur people’s right to worship freely, but everyone’s right to worship freely. It is a direct attack on mankind’s faculty of free agency. It is not just the Uyghur Muslims but Christians, Buddhists and the Falun Gong. It is any person who does not happen to conform to what the Chinese Communist party wants them to conform to.

The Chinese Communist party has moved from a nominal acceptance of ethnic diversity to an active campaign of assimilation in Tibet and Xinjiang, where religion is central to culture and national identity. The CCP aims to bring religious practice under total party control, replacing spiritual and personal beliefs with loyalty to Chinese cultural nationalism. The state is not merely supressing faith: it is attempting to supplant it with devotion to the great Communist party—or they say it is anyway. The Bible tells us very clearly that the great will fall and the mighty will be struck down, and their day is coming.

The right to freedom of religion or belief is the bedrock of a just society and transcends political and economic interests. The UK cannot stand by as an authoritarian hand passes over what was once a peaceful society, turning every community neighbouring China into an ideological machine, as we see operating in North Korea. Should we allow it to continue, we will have not only failed those who suffer under the regime but emboldened the CCP to expand its repression even further. The time for stronger action is now.

The UK has long championed the right to FORB on the world stage, but our response to these abuses must be stronger. The UK Government have consistently raised issues and concerns about religious freedom in China with their counterparts, as the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and others have made clear. However, it is now time for stronger, more decisive action.

I conclude by calling on the Government to take steps to impose sanctions on all individuals and entities—the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) has said it on numerous occasions—responsible for FORB violations in China. I also call on them to strengthen UK import regulations to ensure that goods produced through forced labour linked to religious persecution, whether in Xinjiang or elsewhere, do not ever enter our markets.

--- Later in debate ---

[Tony Vaughan]

I completely agree that a national security-first approach to China must be the position. As I understand it, that is the position of the Government. That is why the position taken on the embassy is a national security issue; I know that there has been some debate about that, but I am not in a position to second-guess MI6, MI5 and the security services, and that has to be the lens through which we look at these issues.

I have referred to the EFD outcomes. Critics of engagement overlook the fact that some nations who took a robust approach to China were still engaging in the background. If we step back while competitors—including the United States, which has also taken a robust approach to China—are engaging, we are missing a trick. The UK had not sent a Prime Minister to China in many years. I am pleased that the Government aim to have a relationship with China based on what I understand to be a national security approach, while also co-operating with, competing with and challenging China where appropriate. Engaging with does not, of course, meaning agreeing with.

[Jim Shannon]

I have listened to what the hon. Gentleman has said. I am conscious of what he is putting forward, but I do not hear anything in his speech to do with human rights or religious persecution. We must make that central to our economic business with China. That is the Minister’s mission, and I hope the hon. Gentleman will come on to that shortly and reassure us that those are also his thoughts.

[Tony Vaughan]

That is exactly what I am now moving on to. As I said, engaging with does not mean agreeing with. Part of our stable and consistent relationship with China involves raising human rights concerns with it, stably and consistently, as the Prime Minister did with the case of Jimmy Lai when he met President Xi last year. I recently met Jimmy Lai’s son Sebastien and the barristers representing his father and I was very concerned to hear of Jimmy Lai’s deteriorating medical situation. I urge the Prime Minister to meet his team to discuss what the British Government can do to effect his release.

Another example is the compelling evidence of the use of forced labour in energy supply chains in China, especially polysilicon. I do not believe our green energy transition should be built from solar panels built using forced labour. We must take a whole-of-industry approach, with robust safeguards against the import of solar panels when it cannot be shown that they are free from forced labour. In the long term, our country needs to become self-sufficient in our industrial supply chains, such as renewable technology production. I completely agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North (Chris McDonald) said about protecting UK domestic industries and jobs, which must be prioritised.

A grown-up relationship with China means believing that we should work with China on areas that do not impact national security and human rights, while also putting our foot down in areas that do. It will always be a highly complex bilateral relationship, with tricky trade-offs and tensions, and I fully accept that there is a role for pressing China extremely hard, as some in this Chamber have done. I am pleased to see the Government’s success so far in bringing stability and pragmatism to that relationship.