Uyghur activists living in exile in London have accused Sir Keir Starmer of turning a blind eye to ‘genocide’ by visiting China for trade talks.
The Prime Minister has become the first UK leader to visit China since 2018, despite backing calls five years ago for China’s treatment of the Uyghur minority to be formally recognised as genocide.
Rahima Mahmut and Aziz Isa Elkun say they feel ‘betrayed’ by Starmer’s ‘U-turn’ as he attempts to bolster economic ties with the Asian power during the three-day trip.
Rahima told Metro: ‘Claiming economic benefit while shaking hands with those responsible for mass repression sends a devastating message to victims.’
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Keir Starmer confirmed he raised the treatment of the Uyghur people, as well as the detention of pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai, in talks with Xi Jinping in Beijing today.
He said they had a ‘respectful discussion’ and that was ‘part and parcel of the reason to engage.’
China has detained the predominantly Muslim Uyghur population in the north-west region of Xinjiang for years and has faced allegations of torture, forced labour and sexual abuse.
Numerous bodies, including the United States State Department and the UK-based Uyghur Tribunal, have labelled their actions a genocide, but China strongly denies these accusations.
While Keir Starmer was leader of the opposition, Labour backed a Commons motion that declared China’s conduct genocide and vowed to make sure Britain ‘never turns a blind eye to genocide’.
But Rahima, who fled China in 2000 to live in the UK, says the prime minister is doing just that with his ‘cost three-day visit’ to China.
The executive director of Stop Uyghur Genocide said: ‘For the Uyghur community, this trip is deeply troubling. It is very disappointing.
‘When Labour was in opposition, senior ministers promised a tougher stance on China. That moral clarity appears to have been abandoned in favour of pragmatic engagement and trade rhetoric.’
Rahima said that she has had no contact with her family members in China since January 2017.
Her last phone call was with her brother, who ‘bravely’ answered the phone and told her ‘Leave us in God’s hand’.
Since then, she’s learned that he was put inside three different camps for over two years.
Rahima claims she knows of other exiled Uyghur people in the UK who have had family members die in Chinese detention.
The campaigner said she had ‘high hopes’ when the Labour government came to power in 2024 after a track record of standing up for the Uygher people.
This included a pledge by then Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy to seek recognition of China’s actions as genocide through the international courts.
She is now devastated the government has ‘abandoned its values and moral leadership’, saying it will only encourage China to continue repression of the Uyghur people.
Rahima added: ‘This trip is a propaganda opportunity for the Chinese government to claim that everything is normal.
‘When there are no consequences, then it will continue.’
In 2022, UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said allegations of torture, ill-treatment and other human rights abuses were ‘credible’.
Starmer’s visit to China comes just seven days after the United Nations Human Rights Commission again expressed ‘deep concern’ about ‘persistent allegations of forced labour’ against Uyghur and other minority groups.
Experts appointed by the commission also pointed to reports that Uyghur people have been ‘subjected to systematic monitoring, surveillance and exploitation.’
Aziz Isa Elkun, a Uyghur who is living in exile from Xinjiang after leaving in 1999, has said the British government ‘cannot do normal business with a country committing genocide’.
The activist told Metro: ‘Shame on him. Shame on Labour. Labour is meant ot be concerned about human rights and be on the side of oppressed people.
‘I feel betrayed. I feel betrayed for humanity.’
He called on the prime minister to raise the Uyghur situation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which Metro understands he did do.
Aziz added: ‘Starmer must ask Xi Jinping to release all Uyghur detainees, who are innocent Chinese citizens. Ask him to give Uyghurs fundamental human rights.
‘He must ask about the forced labour of Uyghurs and the travel restrictions.’
Aziz spent seven years not knowing whether his mother Hepizikhan was alive after she was placed in a camp in Xinjiang province in 2018.
She was released around six months later, but Aziz he has no way to contact her independently.
The last time they spoke was last year when a Chinese policeman called him and handed over the phone to his mum.
‘They are not allowed to speak freely,’ he says, ‘they cannot tell me about what they experienced in the camps.’
Aziz also described how just three years after his father died in 2017, he saw on Google Earth that their family home had been flattened.
As part of Starmer’s visit to China, both countries have agreed that UK citizens visiting China on business or as tourists will be able to travel visa-free for trips under 30 days.
The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will also invest £10.9bn in China until 2030.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: ‘The Prime Minister met the Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing today.
‘The Prime Minister thanked the President for a warm welcome to China, and both leaders affirmed their shared commitment to building a consistent, long-term, and strategic partnership that will benefit both countries.
‘They agreed they would continue to enhance co-operation on areas of mutual interest, while maintaining frank and open dialogue on areas of disagreement. The Prime Minister raised areas of concern to the United Kingdom.
‘Accompanied by a delegation of nearly 60 of Britain’s biggest businesses and cultural organisations on his visit, the Prime Minister added that he hoped new partnerships could be forged and new opportunities unlocked for them in China.
‘Growth and prosperity at home is directly linked to our engagement with the world’s biggest powers abroad, the Prime Minister added.
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‘The Prime Minister said he looked forward to the rest of his visit.’
The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China told Metro: ‘Xinjiang enjoys sustained economic growth, social stability, ethnic and religious harmony, vibrant cultural life, and improving living standards. These are widely recognised facts. Any allegations, including the so-called genocide, are sheer lies of the century.
‘Population data speaks volumes. From the first census in 1953 to the seventh in 2020, the Uyghur population in Xinjiang grew from 3.6 million to 11.6 million, outpacing growth in both Xinjiang’s total population and the local Han population. Claims of “genocide” are therefore inconsistent with the facts.
‘We believe that it is crucial to enhance dialogue and cooperation between China and the UK in order to maintain world peace and stability, while promoting the economy and improving the livelihoods of people in both countries.’
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