David Lammy ‘breaks promise’ to accuse China of genocide

The promises David Lammy made seem to have been broken to accuse China of genocide. 
 
Last year, the Foreign Secretary vowed to define the policies of Xi Jinping’s state in Xinjiang as a genocide, a step that Labour supported in 2021 in the House of Commons. 
 
About a million Uighur Muslims in North West China have been detained in what the government calls vocational training centers where they endure torture and are transformed politically. 
 
When asked by The Telegraph whether it intends to call China a genocide, the reaction of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was an attempt to point to the “Oppression” of the Uyghurs. 
 
An FCDO spokesman said: “We are taking a leading part in demanding the Chinese government enhance its human rights situation and stop the persecution of the Uighur population in the Xinjiang region. 
 
‘Hold China to account’ 
 
“This involves lobbying at the highest political level of the Chinese Government and mobilizing multi-laterally to expose and sanction state’s rights abuses in China . ” 
 
It emerges after Labour has refused to label China as a ‘threat’ – a pledge which was made in the Tory manifesto by Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer’s predecessor. 
 
Just one week after his election as Labour leader, Sir Keir used an interview at a Nato summit to describe how he would be ‘robust’ towards China and ready to confront it on social rights and security issues. 
 
On Monday, Sir Keir’s Government said it had postponed a new law on tracking lobbyists from Russia and China, suggesting that it could weaken or abandon the program altogether. 
 
In a report that was released in February 2021 prepared by experts from around the world, China was accused of violating every single provision of the United Nations genocide convention with regard to Xinjiang. 
 
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative leader, added: ‘This is mental, and it is another regresion. This is very dangerous. 
 
They understood what the threats from China were when they were in the opposition and ensured that the Conservative government, which wasn’t great on it, understood as well. 
 
“But now they are in government, they are in the hands of the Foreign Office. Those of us who are sanctioned by the Chinese government are now very worried that Labour is now starting to backslide on its previous commitments. ” 
 
A Tory MP and shadow foreign minister, Alicia Kearns, accused Mr Lammy of having ‘gone back on’ the promises made by his party before the election. 
 
‘Reneged on these promises’ 

She said: “David Lammy promised that a Labour Government will accept the fact that the Uyghurs endured genocide under the Chinese regime, seek justice for them via international tribunals, and radically redefine the Britishties relationship with Beijing within one hundred days of coming to power. ” 
 
“Instead, within 100 days Labour has lost its way and gone back on these commitments. Labour pledged a more aggressive approach to China – and now, measures that even Conservative MPs supported is being reneged on. 
 
“Yes, protecting ourselves from the CCP’s influence is a generational problem, and it’s not something made up just to woo the voters only to be forgotten once in power. ” 
 
China has always refuted accounts of human rights abuse asserting that its policies were essential to wiping out extremism and terrorism.David Lammy ‘breaks promise’ to accuse China of genocide