(Open letter to Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy)
Dear Mr. Borrell,
Regrettably, you have stated that China is not a threat to humanity. This is not a mere opinion of yours that misjudged the threat of China, it also contradicts to values and beliefs of the European Union. Isn’t the actions of the Chinese authorities in East Turkistan (AKA Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) that aims to wipe out its people a crime against humanity and constitute a threat to humanity? I believe that you are aware of the crisis the Uyghurs are facing. China’s incarceration of more than 3 million Uyghurs is not a secret. There is a UN report, and reports leaked from China by various news agencies in the West that exposed how those concentration camps are run. Also, there are satellite images that show the location and scale of the camps.
Under the guise of “vocational training centers”, the Chinese authorities are trying to force the Communist ideology and Chinese culture on the detainees. The detainees are not only deprived of work, family, and normal life, there are also many reports of death due to the harsh conditions in the concentration camps.
Do you want to turn a blind eye to those facts? Aren’t the 3 million Uyghurs in China’s concentration camps part of humanity? Does this not affect the peace of humanity? I believe that there is no place for such cynicism and ignorance in European values. Last year, 22 Western countries sent a letter to China at the UN requesting that China changes its policies towards the Uyghurs. The letter was rejected by 55 dictatorship countries.
I am not in a position to speak with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. I am just a voice for the Uyghur people of East Turkistan. I strongly reiterate that the Chinese government that is trying to erase the Uyghur people from the earth is a threat to humanity. I do not know if this will weaken your love and hope for the Chinese government. Nonetheless, I believe that this will make humanity - that lost more the 300,000 people to the Chinese Wuhan Virus - think about China.
Rebiya Kadeer
The leader of the Uyghur National Movement
Washington.D.C.
May 10, 2020