GOOD MORNING FROM LONDON
On the issue of Xinjiang + the Uighurs there are two main conflicting views. The first is that China is guilty of genocide; that it has calculatedly attacked the Uighurs in Xinjiang Province with the intention of eliminating the Uighurs; that it is repressive, brutal + acts contrary to the basic principles of Human Rights.
The second view is that the conflict that has taken place in Xinjiang is one of security + not race. Muslim extremists have tried to detach Xinjiang from China; the Uighur population has increased; Uighurs continue to access Temples of Prayer at will; their prosperity has increased + their quality of life has continued to improve.
Recently Michelle Bachelet, the UN Human Rights Commissioner, concluded her visit to Xinjiang + her visit has been reviewed by Jocelyn Chey who formerly held diplomatic posts in China + Hong Kong and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Sydney + a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs.
Chey comments on Bachelet’s visit + concludes “All in all, the visit should be endorsed as promising a new avenue for discussion of human rights issues and encouraging a higher degree of participation by China in international human rights organisations”.
Chey quotes Bachelet “Official visits by a High Commissioner are by their nature high-profile and simply not conducive to the kind of detailed, methodical discreet work of an investigative nature”. Chey further notes that Bachelet visited China at the invitation of the Chinese Government + met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi + President Xi Jinping “and was able to discuss wide policy issues regarding human rights in China and internationally.” Bachelet felt, said Chey, that she “had made some valuable progress on these issues.”
Chey concludes “the [Bachelet] visit should be endorsed as promising a new avenue for discussion of human rights issues and encouraging a higher degree of participation by China in international human rights organisations. In these days of East-West tension, it has shown that civilised dialogue is still possible”.
NEXT POST – 2 JUNE 2022
