Madam President, I want to thank Mr Borrell
for some clear words on behalf of the EU.
The policy of the Chinese Communist Party
towards the Uyghurs has never been liberal,
but in 2014 a totalitarian turn was taken
in Xinjiang that has created the worst police
state that we have on the globe today. This
extreme policy is even encountering some internal
opposition, as we learn from the China cables,
and I think that for a nation of such great
cultural tradition as China, it is shameful
to implement such policies. Fighting terrorism
is necessary, but it’s not an excuse for
fighting people who want to think as they
want, who want to speak as they want, who
want to worship as they want. We strongly
believe that it’s time to end the lies,
to end the excuses and to end the distractions,
and to close the camps. We, as Europeans,
must also be active beyond just voicing critical
words. That’s why this Parliament calls
for the halt of exports and the tech transfer
of products and services that are used to
enhance cyber surveillance. This is why this
Parliament asks that forced labour from internment
camps must not be allowed to enter into EU-based
companies’ value chains, and as has been
said before, the products of forced labour
must be banned from the European markets.
We call on all EU-based companies to draw
clear red lines. They are running a high reputational
risks if they don’t implement a robust human
rights due diligence system that makes sure
that they’re not implicated in acts of repression.
We also need a human rights sanctions mechanism,
as you have discussed with the foreign ministers
in the Foreign Affairs Council, and we need
that expeditiously. Let me make a last sentence
that alludes to Ilham Tohti, our Sakharov
laureate. He is not allowed to see his family.
He hasn’t seen his family for two years,
even though Chinese law guarantees that. I
think we should all insist that his family
should be allowed to know where he lives and
to see him. Thank you.
