By Canadian Press

Conservatives urge Liberals to support Uighur genocide motion amid China’s denials

Feb 22, 2021 | 10:04 AM

OTTAWA — The Conservatives are calling on Liberal MPs to support the party’s motion to have Parliament declare a genocide against ethnic Muslim Uighurs in its Xinjiang province.

Conservative MPs Michael Chong and Garnett Genuis were joined by Uighur community members at a teleconference today in calling for the government’s support of the motion, saying unanimity would send a strong signal to China.

Chong is also dismissing the Chinese government’s claims there is no genocide there.

Ambassador Cong Peiwu recently told The Canadian Press that reports of millions of people in detention camps being subjected to forced labour, sterilization and other abuse is simply unsubstantiated China-bashing.

Chong is rejecting that denial, saying there are reams of satellite images, smuggled video and documents, accounts from escaped Uighurs and undercover reporting by major American newspapers to document the atrocities.

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The Conservatives tabled a motion in the House of Commons last week that may come to a non-binding vote as early as tonight, calling for a formal declaration that crimes against Uighur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province constitute a genocide. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stopped short of agreeing with American officials, human rights advocates and legal scholars who argue the violations amount to a genocide, saying it is a loaded word that has to be used carefully.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2021.

The Canadian Press