Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he plans to make to the government of China about the reports of threats to life caused by lockdowns in the Uyghur regions; and if he will make a statement.

While most countries have now relaxed Covid restrictions, China continues to operate a "zero-Covid policy" across the whole country which frequently results in large scale lockdowns in response to relatively low numbers of cases.

More broadly, we continue to monitor the ongoing human rights violations in Xinjiang. In response the UK has led international efforts to pressure China to change its behaviour. We have imposed sanctions, led joint statements at the UN, taken action to tackle forced labour in supply chains, funded research to expose China's actions, and consistently raised China's human rights violations at the highest levels in Beijing.