China engaging in ‘gross, egregious human rights abuses’ against Uighurs: Dominic Raab

UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab to seek Australian support for measures to end Chinese persecution of Uighur people.

Uighur women grab a riot policemen as they protest in Urumqi in China’s far west Xinjiang province in 2009. Picture: AFP

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has claimed China has engaged in “gross and egregious” human rights abuses against the Uighur population and wants to work with allies to sanction those responsible.

Mr Raab is looking to call on Australia and other countries to support measures against the alleged abuse, which has included reports of forced sterilisation. He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show on Sunday that this was “reminiscent of something not seen for a long time”.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says there are "gross, egregious human rights abuses" going on in China and reports of forced sterilisation are "deeply deeply troubling"#Marr https://t.co/ak3Q7rSUbk pic.twitter.com/0GBxEEHi5V

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) July 19, 2020

But China’s UK ambassador Liu Xiaoming denied claims of “ethnic cleansing” of the Uighurs. He said “they enjoy peaceful, harmonious coexistence with other ethnic groups of people”. He also said reports of declining population were not correct and that the number of Uighurs in Xinjiang had doubled in the past four decades.

“There is no so-called pervasive, massive forced sterilisation among Uighur people in China,” Mr Liu said.

”Government policy is strongly opposed to this kind of practice.”

Press conference with Minister for Foreign Affairs Minister for Women Senator Marise Payne and the UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Gary Ramage

Last month, China scholar Adrian Zenz said Xinjiang authorities were engaging in the mass sterilisation of women, with three or more children and threatened women with internment in the camps for refusing to abort pregnancies.

Mr Liu said on Sunday there were no Uighur concentration camps.

Presenter Andrew Marr showed Mr Liu footage from Xinjiang, taken last year and appearing to show prisoners blindfolded, heads shaven, shackled and being led onto trains.

But the ambassador said: “I do not know where you get this videotape … sometimes you have a transfer of prisoners, in any country.”

He added: “There is no such concentration camps in Xinjiang. There’s a lot of fake accusations against China.”

Uighur men are seen leaving a mosque after prayers in Hotan in China's northwest Xinjiang region. Picture: AFP

Mr Raab said the international community had to be careful before making claims of genocide because of legal question marks.

But he added: “Whatever the legal label, it is clear that gross, egregious human rights abuses are going on.”

The UK has raised the “deeply, deeply troubling issues” with the United Nations in Geneva.

Mr Raab said it was right to call out China on human rights abuses and said he would work with other international partners to take action “in the right way”.