Xinjiang: Uyghurs

Patricia Gibson Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. This issue obviously touches on Huawei, and it is probably right for me to refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests; I have previously been a director and shareholder of telecommunications companies. I am so no longer, but I know the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has a very beady eye on these matters and on debates, as several right hon. and hon. Members have discovered in recent years. I put that on the record, as my family does still have an interest in the telecoms sector.

There are credible reports of Huawei co-operating with security forces in Xinjiang. We understand that it provides IT and high-tech technology. On its participating in our 5G network, Her Majesty’s Government considered a full range of risks when making our decision on the use of high-risk vendors in the UK telecoms network.

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

Only a few short years ago, the Chinese President was accorded a UK state visit, when he was fêted and petted by the UK establishment, and great care was taken not to mention human rights violations publicly. Given what we know about enforced organ transplants in China, and now we hear of the sterilisation of 34% of all unmarried women of child-bearing age in the Uyghur majority city of Hotan and a whole range of other human rights abuses, what assurances can the UK Minister give this House that, in future, the UK Government will treat China as the international lawbreaker it is?

[Nigel Adams]

I would just say to the hon. Lady that we do raise cases of human rights violations reports. Obviously, we have only had this report in the last 24 hours, and it adds to the concerns we have regarding Xinjiang and the violations there. She raises harvesting, and we are very concerned about human rights abuses in that regard, as well as the mass detentions, discrimination, separating children from their families and issues about religious observation. We do regularly have these uncomfortable conversations with China, and we call on it to implement the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.