Uyghurs Press Release – For Immediate Release
Press Release – For Immediate Release
02 January 2023
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
0049 (0) 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]
The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) applauds the passing of a resolution in the Taiwanese Parliament (Legislative Yuan) on December 27th, which recognizes that the Chinese government is committing crimes against humanity and genocide against the Uyghur people. This is reportedly the first time that the Legislative Yuan has passed a cross-party bill.
“By being the first legislative body in Asia to recognise the Chinese government’s crimes against humanity and genocide against the Uyghur people, the Taiwanese Parliament sets a very important precedent”, WUC President Dolkun Isa said. “Other counties in the region must follow suit and build a strong coalition to reject the Chinese government’s atrocity crimes and support efforts to hold those responsible to account.”
The Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan becomes the 11th parliamentary body worldwide to recognize crimes against humanity and (a serious risk of) genocide, following similar resolutions by parliamentary bodies in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Lithuania, Ireland, as well as the European Parliament.
Apart from recognizing the Chinese government’s involvement in crimes against humanity and genocide, the Legislative Yuan also requested the government’s executive branch to continue to pay attention to Uyghur human rights violations, expressed its solidarity with persecuted Uyghurs, and called for a prompt discussion on how to cooperate with other democratic countries to impose corresponding sanctions on the Chinese government.
Wu’er Kaixi, Secretary-General of the Human Rights Committee of the Legislative Yuan, mentioned that the resolution can require the Executive Yuan to prohibit the import of related products similar to the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). In addition, the Taiwanese Parliament has also introduced a Taiwanese Magnitsky-style global human rights sanctions regime, to sanction perpetrators of human rights abuses. If this passes, Taiwan may become the first Asian country with such a sanctions regime.
The WUC expresses its gratitude to all Taiwanese lawmakers for supporting this resolution and their leadership in the face of the Chinese government’s myriad threats, and urges the Taiwanese government to take on Legislative Yuan’s genocide designation and recommendations for further action.
