The French National Assembly adopted on Thursday, January 20, in an open vote, a resolution denouncing the ongoing “genocide” of the Uyghurs, the Muslim minority of Xinjiang persecuted by the Communist regime in China.
Forced labor, widespread surveillance, torture, sexual violence, systematic rape, mass internment, policies of mass and forced sterilization, sinicization, eradication of Uighur culture and identity, separation of children from their families…
In listing these crimes, the resolution states: “These elements, now widely documented (…), demonstrate an intention to destroy Uyghur identity, community ties, parentage and intergenerational ties, and more generally to destroy Uyghurs, including biologically, as a group in their own right. This extreme and systematic political violence, organized and planned by the Chinese state, constitutes genocide.”
The resolution also expresses concern about the fate of other “Turkic minorities” (Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks and Tatars) in Beijing.
In 2021, five European parliaments voted for a similar text: Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and the United Kingdom. Canada has also adopted the term “genocide”, only the United States has an administration that has endorsed this term.
The resolution, adopted almost unanimously, is not binding and has above all a symbolic weight. This can create pressure on the French government, which for diplomatic and commercial reasons, has a little chance of taking up this rhetorical line. Yesterday in Strasbourg, during his speech to the European Parliament, he spoke of the “massacre of the Uyghurs”, which is more nuanced. It is worth recalling that the French President had described the idea of boycotting the Beijing Olympics as absurd.
China reacts with restraint to a resolution on Uighurs adopted in France
Unsurprisingly, the embassy’s website states that China “strongly condemns” this resolution which is based on “pure lies”. It adds that China “has also expressed its deep concern that the resolution concerned would seriously damage Sino-French relations as well as France’s credibility and image in the eyes of the Chinese. The French side is fully aware of the absurdity and harmfulness of this resolution. It must show consistency between words and deeds and take concrete actions to safeguard the healthy development of Sino-French relations.
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“This is a gross interference in China’s internal affairs. China is firmly opposed to it,” said Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on Friday 21 January.
