China tells France it will lose respect if it ‘submits’ to US after Paris plays lead role in UN statement on Xinjiang
- Beijing’s UN ambassador Zhang Jun made the comments after Paris read out a statement citing ‘credible’ reports up to a million Uygurs had been detained in camps
- French relations with the US have been strained by the Aukus pact, but Zhang said the country was acting as one of Washington’s ‘henchmen’
A senior Chinese diplomat has warned France not to “submit to the United States”, or it will risk losing dignity and respect.
“To France and other followers of the US: what you are doing is submitting your independence and autonomy, and serving as the henchmen of the US, as if you can gain superiority by acting at the beck and call of the superpower. But the truth is, you are giving up your own dignity, and will win no respect from others,” Zhang said.
Party’s picks to join Xinjiang leadership point to focus on security
Zhang then hit back at France’s human rights record, saying it had killed civilians in the 2014 Operation Barkhane, an operation against Islamist insurgents in Africa’s Sahel region.
He also said France evicted between 10,000 and 15,000 Romani people annually, added that Muslims living in the country face discrimination and observed that the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture had expressed concerns about prison overcrowding and conditions in police detention facilities.
The statement mentioned torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, forced sterilisation, sexual and gender-based violence and forced separation of children, which it said “disproportionately continues to target Uygurs and members of other minorities.”
China holds firm on Xinjiang as Afghanistan poses security concerns
Zhang did not mention the spat between France and the US, but said France was following the US in attacking China’s human rights record. He warned the “few” countries involved that “your plot to obstruct China’s development is doomed to fail”.
“The world is developing and humankind is progressing. The US and a few other countries choose to stick to the wrong course, which goes against the prevailing trend of the times,” he said.
“Eventually, they will only bring disgrace to themselves, and become the laughing stock of the international community and the sinners of history.”
02:08
Uygur woman describes torture in China’s Xinjiang ‘vocational training’ camps
Beijing has defended its actions in Xinjiang, saying they are designed to combat terrorism, religious extremism and separatism.
