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<p>We have serious concerns about the detention of more than a million Uyghurs, along
with widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at minorities. British diplomats
in China visit Xinjiang every few months, in order to see at first-hand the situation
there. They most recently visited in May 2019, and their observations have supported
much of the recent open source reporting about the restrictions targeted at specific
ethnic groups.</p><p>Ministers and senior officials frequently raise the human rights
issues in the region with their Chinese counterparts, most recently in a public statement
on 3 July at the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council. The Foreign Secretary
also highlighted our concerns with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang
Yi during his most recent visit to China, in July 2018. Later that month, the Minister
for Asia and the Pacific did the same with his Chinese counterpart Vice Minister Guo
Yezhou. Additionally, our Embassy in Beijing regularly raises the treatment of Uyghurs
in Xinjiang with the Chinese authorities.</p><p>Reports about forced separation of
children add to the growing body of disturbing evidence highlighting the situation
Uyghurs face in Xinjiang. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and raise
our concerns with the Chinese government at all levels bilaterally and in appropriate
UN fora, including the Human Rights Council.</p>
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