UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told leaders in Beijing that he expects them to allow UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to make a “credible” visit to China, including a stop in Xinjiang, his spokesman said on Saturday.
Guterres met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) on the sidelines of the Beijing Winter Olympics, a readout of their talks said.
Guterres “expressed his expectation that the contacts between the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Chinese authorities will allow for a credible visit of the High Commissioner to China, including Xinjiang,” it said.
Photo: AFP
A readout of the meeting from China’s state-run Xinhua news agency made no mention of the rights issue.
Campaigners say that at least 1 million mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in “re-education camps” in Xinjiang, a far-western region where China is accused of widespread human rights abuses including the forced sterilization of women and forced labor.
In the run-up to the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeatedly emphasized Guterres’ support of the Games at daily briefings.
The UN chief himself congratulated Xi on the organization of the Games in their talks in Beijing, the statement from the world body said.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi was one of a half-dozen heads of state who met with Xi on Saturday after attending the Olympic opening ceremony, seeking closer ties with China while shunning Western criticism of their heavy-handed rule.
Xi “hailed enhanced political trust” between the countries, citing cooperation in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Their comprehensive strategic partnership is a model of “China-Arab, China-Africa and China-developing world solidarity,” the official China Global Television Network, quoted Xi as saying.
“China and Egypt share similar visions and strategies in defending their own interests, pursuing common development, enhancing their people’s well-being and promoting fairness and justice in the world, as the world is undergoing changes unseen in a century,” Xi said.
Since taking power, al-Sissi has overseen a widespread crackdown on dissent and opposition, jailing tens of thousands and drawing international criticism.
Also on Saturday, Xi met with the heads of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Serbia, Ecuador and Qatar.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
STRAIT OF HORMUZ: In the case of a prolonged blockade by Iran, Taiwan would look to sources of LNG outside the Middle East, including Australia and the US Taiwan would not have to ration power due to a shortage of natural gas, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, after reports that the Strait of Hormuz was closed amid the conflict in the Middle East. The government has secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies for this month and contingency measures are in place if the conflict extends into next month, Kung told lawmakers. Saying that 25 percent of Taiwan’s natural gas supplies are from Qatar, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) asked about the situation in light of the conflict. There would be “no problems” with
RSS