The US has accused China of genocide against the Uighurs, while British MPs are pressing the government to take a tougher stand
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It took a long time for leaders to notice, longer to condemn, and longer still to act. It took time for researchers to amass evidence of China\u2019s treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang<\/a> \u2013 from mass detention to forced sterilisation \u2013 given the intense security and secrecy in the north-west region. Beijing initially denied the existence of the camps, believed to have held about a million Turkic Muslims, before describing them as educational centres to tackle extremism. But the hesitation by other governments also reflected the anxiety to maintain relations with the world\u2019s second-largest economy.<\/p> The US, on Donald Trump\u2019s final day in office, became the first country to declare that China is committing genocide<\/a>. The administration has already targeted officials<\/a> and issued a ban<\/a> on any cotton or tomato products from the region. On Tuesday, the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, described a \u201csystematic attempt to destroy Uighurs by the Chinese party-state \u2026 forced assimilation and eventual erasure\u201d. A more cautious report from a bipartisan US Congressional commission said<\/a> that China had committed crimes against humanity and \u201cpossibly\u201d genocide.<\/p> Continue reading...<\/a>\n