President Biden dismisses genocide against the Uyghur population in China, and calls mass internment a “different norm,” although the State Department this month has responded to “atrocities” in the camps, after having reported systemic violations and torture.
The commander-in-chief made the remarks after being asked CNN City Hall on Tuesday evening about his recent conversation with his Chinese counterpart, and began his response by conveying Xi’s justification for the abuses.
“If you know anything about China’s history, it’s always been, the time when China has fallen victim to the outside world is when they haven’t unified at home,” Biden began. “So the central (well, very exaggerated) principle of Xi Jinping is that there must be a united and strictly controlled China. And he uses his foundation to do the things he does based on that.”
China, a nation that has faced a wave of international scrutiny in recent years related to its activities to dismantle democracy in Hong Kong and its refusal to accept responsibility for negligence and lack of transparency in the start of the coronavirus outbreak, has not let global tensions stop the mass internment of Uighurs in Xinjiang Province.
President Biden continued in his response that he “will not speak against” the Chinese Communist Party’s belligerent actions in Hong Kong, against the Uyghurs or in Taiwan.
“I point out to him that no American president can stand as president if he does not reflect the values of the United States,” the president of the United States continued. “And so the idea that I’m not going to protest against what’s going on in Hong Kong, what’s going on with the Uighurs in the western mountains of China and Taiwan, trying to end China’s policy by doing it blunt … [Xi] he succeeds “.
“Culturally, there are different rules that are expected to be respected by each country and its leaders,” he continued.
The “rules” in China, as shown in a recent BBC News exposition, include systemic torture and rape that occur in Uyghur concentration camps.
Following the publication of the BBC report, China banned entry into its territory.
Asked during the town hall whether there would be repercussions for the CCP on genocide, Biden shunned the question and said the US “would reaffirm our role as human rights spokespersons at the UN and other bodies”.
“Well, there will be repercussions for China and [Xi] he knows. What I am doing is making it clear that, in fact, we will continue to reaffirm our role as human rights spokespersons at the UN and other agencies that have an impact on their attitude, ”he said.
Asked if China was no longer too powerful to stop fulfilling its horrific human rights practices, Biden expressed confidence that human rights would win the day.
“China is working hard to become a world leader. And to get that nickname and be able to do it, they have to earn the trust of other countries. And as long as they engage in activities that are contrary to basic human rights, it will be difficult for them to do so.
“But it’s a lot more complicated than that. I shouldn’t try to talk about China’s politics in ten minutes on TV here.”
The Post was unable to immediately contact a White House spokesman for comment.
During his confirmation hearings last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken specifically agreed with outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in identifying the Chinese government’s treatment of Uighur Muslims as a “genocide” and went to say that “there has been a strong and long bipartisan commitment to Taiwan … [and] the commitment to Taiwan is something we maintain very strongly ”.
Biden has not publicly acknowledged receiving a congratulatory call from the Taiwanese president.