Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of alleged reports from former detainees in Xinjiang detention camps that Muslim detainees were forcibly fed pork in violation of their religious beliefs.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are aware of disturbing reports alleging that former detainees in Xinjiang were forcibly fed pork in violation of their religious beliefs. We are deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of religion or belief in China, including reports that authorities are tightening control over how certain religions are practiced. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. We continue to raise our concerns about the situation in Xinjiang, both directly with the Chinese authorities and at the UN alongside international partners.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recent leak of a prisoner list from a Chinese internment camp showing how authorities in Xinjiang target Muslim minorities for detention.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are aware of recent reports on the use of data by the Chinese authorities to target Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang. These reports add to the growing body of evidence of gross human rights violations perpetrated against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in the region. We have repeatedly condemned these abuses and call on China to end arbitrary detention, in line with its international obligations.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on returning the twelve Hong Kong youths detained in China to Hong Kong.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We have raised our concerns about these cases with the Chinese authorities in Hong Kong. It is essential that due process is followed. The UK remains fully committed to upholding Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech and assembly, which are guaranteed under the Joint Declaration.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they have on the wellbeing of imprisoned Hong Kong activist Andy Li; and whether they have asked the government of China (1) to allow access to Andy Li by family members and lawyers, and (2) to return him to Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have raised our concerns about the 12 detainees in Shenzhen, which we understand includes Andy Li, with the Chinese authorities in Hong Kong. It is essential that due process is followed. The rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong, including their rights to freedom of speech and assembly, are expressly guaranteed in the Joint Declaration. Rights committed to under the Joint Declaration must be upheld.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China about (1) the location, and (2) the well-being, of Andy Li and eleven other young detainees who are citizens of Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have raised our concerns about these cases with the Chinese authorities in Hong Kong. It is essential that due process is followed. The UK remains fully committed to upholding Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech and assembly, which are guaranteed under the Joint Declaration.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the Chinese Government to end the use of re-education camps in Xinjiang in the context of protecting detainees from covid-19.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We regularly raise our serious concerns about the extra-judicial detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang with the Chinese authorities, and have repeatedly called on China to urgently end the practice of extra-judicial detention. Most recently, on 9 September during an adjournment debate in Parliament, I [Minister Adams] called on China to live up to its international human rights obligations and end the disproportionate and damaging policies in Xinjiang. On 28 July, the Foreign Secretary raised human rights violations in Xinjiang with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi.
The risk of the spread of COVID-19 in places of detention is a matter of concern around the world. The UK will continue to work closely with China on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of the conclusion of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom report on COVID-19, which stated that limited access to medical resources and the concentration of elderly detainees in the re-education camps in Xinjiang could lead to a humanitarian disaster.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Following the change to date for answer of this PQ, I submitted a response by email on 26 March, with the following response.The Table Office have agreed this approach.
The risk of the spread of COVID-19 in places of detention is a matter of concern in a number of countries around the world. We are aware of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom report and will consider its findings.
We have consistently made clear our serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, including the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in "political re-education camps".
On 9 March, the Foreign Secretary directly raised these concerns with his Chinese counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. On 10 March at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, the UK used its national statement to raise concerns about systematic human rights violations and reports of forced labour in Xinjiang. We continue to urge China to implement UN recommendations - to end the practice of extra-judicial detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, and to allow UN observers unfettered access to the region.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what response they have received from the government of China to representations they have made to that government about the detention in Xinjiang of Uighurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Hui and other minorities; whether British or UN diplomats have sought, and been given, permission to visit detention camps; and if so, what was their assessment of those camps.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese Government's deepening crackdown; including credible reports that over 1 million Uyghur Muslims have been held in re-education camps, and reports of widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities. Visits to Xinjiang by diplomats from our Embassy in Beijing have corroborated much of this open source reporting.
Ministers and senior officials have been raising our concerns directly with the Chinese authorities for some time, and will continue to do so. At the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council which ran from February to March 2019, I raised our concerns about Xinjiang during my opening address (on 25 February). The UK also raised concerns about Xinjiang during our item 4 statement on 12 March, and we co-sponsored a side event on "Protecting the fundamental freedoms in Xinjiang" on 13 March.
The Minister for Asia and the Pacific raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China on 30 July 2018.
During China's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on 6 November 2018, the UK made a statement which described our concerns about the treatment of ethnic minorities in China, including Uyghurs.
Following the Universal Periodic Review, I issued a statement where I said: "I am very concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, including the re-education camps and the widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities, particularly the Uyghurs. The UK and many of our international partners have made clear during China's UPR that this is a priority issue. We recommended that China should implement CERD recommendations in Xinjiang and allow the UN to monitor implementation."
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2018 to Question 165671 on China: Detainees, what recent estimate he has made of the level of internment of members of the Uighur minority in political re-education camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
Answered by Mark Field
There are no official figures detailing the number of people detained in the re-education camps in Xinjiang. However, credible reports estimate that at least one million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have been held in these camps.
The UK Government has serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and reports of the Chinese Government’s deepening crackdown, including re-education camps, and wide spread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities. I raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China in July 2018.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2018 to Question 165671 on China: Detainees, what recent estimate he has made of the level of internment of members of the Uighur minority in political re-education camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
Answered by Mark Field
There are no official figures detailing the number of people detained in the re-education camps in Xinjiang. However, credible reports estimate that at least one million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have been held in these camps.
The UK Government has serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and reports of the Chinese Government’s deepening crackdown, including re-education camps, and wide spread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities. I raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China in July 2018.