The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has called on German Chancellor Scholz not to take a business delegation along to China for his visit to the country on November 3 and 4. “Xi Jinping’s term in office as Secretary General of the Chinese Communist Party will be extended on that weekend. There is no information who could one day become his successor,” stated Hanno Schedler, STP expert on genocide prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, in Göttingen. “During Xi’s term in office, the Chinese state has so far dismantled Hong Kong’s civil rights and liberties – and intensified repressive measures in Tibet. Further, he ordered the persecution of Mongolian parents who want their children to be allowed to learn the Mongolian language – and he is committing genocide crime against the Uyghurs.” The people of Taiwan have to expect a Chinese invasion before Xi is replaced as Secretary General. On the level of the UN, China is working harder than ever to get rid of human rights norms. 

“The answer to this must not be ‘more of the same’ with a focus on trade relations in Germany's China policy. Olaf Scholz is no longer the mayor of Hamburg, but German Chancellor. More than ever before, trade relations should depend on whether the supply chains can be absolutely free of forced labor. Instead, companies that are active in China are trying to deny the crimes against the Uyghur people,” Schedler criticized.

Recently, the business paper Handelsblatt had reported on a meeting between company representatives and the Head of the Asia Department of the German Federal Foreign Office. In the course of this meeting, they had tried to discredit a report on the situation of the Uyghur people which was published by Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on August 31. According to the report, China is committing the most serious human rights violations against the Uyghurs. “If German business leaders belittle forced sterilizations and re-education camps, Chancellor Scholz should set a clear sign by not taking them along for further future China-visits,” Schedler said.