Western Envoys Seek Meeting On Xinjiang Concerns

Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) Party Secretary Chen Quanguo attends a group discussion session on the second day of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

Reuters: Exclusive: In rare coordinated move, Western envoys seek meeting on Xinjiang concerns

BEIJING (Reuters) - A group of 15 Western ambassadors in Beijing, spearheaded by Canada, are seeking a meeting with the top official in China’s restive, heavily Muslim Xinjiang region for an explanation of alleged rights abuses against ethnic Uighurs.

The envoys are making their request in a letter to Chen Quanguo, Xinjiang’s Communist Party boss, according to a copy of a draft letter seen by Reuters.

The move represents unusually broad, coordinated action by a group of countries over a human rights issue in China, and illustrates the mounting backlash Beijing is facing over its crackdown in the western region.

Beijing has faced an outcry from activists, academics, foreign governments and U.N. rights experts over mass detentions and strict surveillance of the mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups who call Xinjiang home.

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WNU Editor: I can easily predict what is going to happen next. After a few delays a senior Chinese foreign official (maybe the top official in Xinjiang province .... maybe not) will meet these Western ambassadors in a conference room. These ambassadors will voice their concerns (with a stern look), the Chinese official and his entourage will nod their heads with a serious look but acknowledging nothing. A letter or letters will be given to this Chinese official, who will take them under advisement. And after the ambassadors have left, everything will be filed away.