Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently issued a statement encouraging French President Emmanuel Macron to use his platform to condemn the alleged crimes against humanity and escalating human rights violations by the Chinese government. This call comes ahead of the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Paris, scheduled for May 6-7.
HRW’s acting China director, Maya Wang, stated that silence and inaction from France would only serve to empower China’s alleged repression of human rights. HRW argued that President Macron should convey to Xi Jinping that Beijing’s alleged crimes against humanity have consequences for China-France relations. Additionally, she emphasized the necessity of demonstrating the French government’s commitment to addressing Xi’s alleged assault on rights both within and outside China.
HRW previously implored President Macron to publicly object to China’s human rights violations when he and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Beijing in April 2023. The organization also asked the two politicians to demand the release of all political prisoners in China, including Ilham Tohti, a Uyghur economist serving a life sentence on charges of separatism, along with seven of his students.
However, the European politicians did not address China’s human rights situation during their visit in 2023. HRW believes Xi’s impending visit provides an excellent chance for France to rectify this oversight. They suggest France could outline how human rights repression could jeopardise trade and business between China and the EU and discuss potential methods of holding China accountable, including pursuing a UN Human Rights Council-backed investigation in Xinjiang.
The violations in Xinjiang have led to a tense economic landscape, with the EU adopting financial sanctions against Chinese officials and entities deemed responsible for certain human rights abuses. The sanctions, which target officials implicated in abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, led to retaliatory counter-sanctions by the PRC. As a result, the European Parliament finally undergoing a suspension of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), a bilateral trade deal between the EU and China.
As Xi’s visit to Paris marks 60 years of diplomatic relations between France and the Peoples Republic of China, the scrutiny of international onlookers like HRW remains focused on the issue of human rights. Critics suggest Macron has a duty to alter the planned agenda and place the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in China front and centre in their discussions.
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