Governor of China’s Xinjiang cancels UK visit after British MPs call for his arrest

The governor of China’s Xinjiang has cancelled a planned trip to the UK after a group of seven British MPs called for his arrest over human rights abuses against Uyghurs.

Erkin Tuniyaz, who was appointed the governor of the northwestern province where the Uyghur community lives, was due to visit London as part of his EU trip this week.

He was expected to meet Foreign Office (FCDO) directors at an undisclosed location, although not at its King Charles Street HQ.

A Foreign Office spokesperson has now said that Mr Tuniyaz cancelled his planned talks in London. A report from Politico said that he cancelled trips to France and Belgium as well.

“We understand the governor of Xinjiang has cancelled his visit to the UK,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The UK government will continue to use all opportunities to take action against China’s unacceptable human rights abuses in Xinjiang,” they added.

This comes after the MPs, including former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, wrote to attorney general Victoria Prentis asking her to give “serious consideration” to an application from a Kazakh man who alleges he experienced “torture” in Xinjiang and also prosecute the governor while in the UK.

“We further understand that evidence has been submitted to the competent authority, the Metropolitan Police’s war crimes team, SO15, for investigation and possible action when he arrives on Sunday,” Sir Smith wrote.

“We hope that you will give this application serious consideration. In the absence of an international mechanism to hold to account those responsible for Uyghur abuses, we must seize every opportunity to ensure accountability.”

Last week, a foreign office minister said Mr Tuniyaz had not been invited by Britain and would not have been “dignified” with a ministerial meeting, but officials were prepared to meet him as part of “robust engagement” over alleged rights violations.

The MPs’ request was followed by protests outside the FCDO headquarters in London, where activists and Labour peer Helena Kennedy, who co-chairs the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, spoke out against the planned visit.

At the protest, Sir Iain accused Mr Tuniyaz of murder, stating that the government should not meet with individuals who commit such crimes.

The MPs called for the government to take a stronger stance on China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims, including allegations of forcibly sterilising women and detaining children in “concentration camps”.

In 2021, a non-binding Commons motion declared Uyghur Muslims and other minorities are “suffering crimes against humanity and genocide” in Xinjiang.

Beijing is accused of abuses against the mainly Muslim ethnic minority community, including the mass use of forced labour in internment camps.

The US and some other foreign lawmakers and parliaments have accused China of genocide. China has consistently denied the allegations.