President Biden rejects the genocide against the Uyghur people in China, calling the mass internment a “different norm” – despite the fact that the State Department responded this month to “atrocities” in the camps following reports of systemic rape and torture.
The commander-in-chief made the comments after being asked at his CNN town hall on Tuesday night about his recent conversation with his Chinese counterpart, starting his response by passing on Xi’s justification for the abuses.
“If you know anything about Chinese history, it always has been, the time when China fell victim to the outside world is when they are not united at home,” Biden began. So the central – well, hugely exaggerated – Xi Jinping’s central tenet is that there must be a united, tightly controlled China. And based on that, he uses his rationale for the things he does. “
China, a country that has faced a wave of international scrutiny in recent years over its democracy-dismantling activities in Hong Kong and its refusal to take responsibility for negligence and lack of transparency at the outbreak’s outbreak of the coronavirus, has not. let global tensions stop the massive internment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang province.
President Biden continued in his response that he “will not speak out against” the militant actions of the Chinese Communist Party in Hong Kong, against the Uyghurs or in Taiwan.
“I remind him that no US president can be supported as president if he does not reflect the values of the United States,” the US president continued. And so the idea that I’m not going to speak out against what he’s doing in Hong Kong, what he’s doing with the Uyghurs in the western mountains of China and Taiwan – in an effort to end the one Chinese policy by making it powerful. . [Xi] understand. “
“Culturally, there are different standards that every country and their leaders are expected to follow,” he continued.
The “standards” in China, as shown in a recent BBC News exposé, include systemic torture and rape taking place in concentration camps in Uyghurs.
After the publication of the BBC report, China banned the point of sale in its territory.
When asked at town hall if there would be any repercussions for the CCP on the genocide, Biden sidestepped the question and said the US would “reaffirm our role as human rights spokespersons at the UN and other agencies.”
Well, there will be consequences for China and [Xi] know that. What I am doing is making it clear that we will in fact continue to reaffirm our role as human rights spokespersons at the UN and other agencies that have an impact on their attitudes, ”he said.
When asked if China wasn’t too powerful to stop its horrific human rights practices, Biden expressed confidence that human rights would win the day.
“China is doing its very best to become the world leader. And to get that nickname and to be able to do it, they have to gain the trust of other countries. And as long as they are engaged in activities that violate basic human rights, it will be difficult for them to do so.
“But it’s much more complicated than that, I shouldn’t try to talk about Chinese policy here on television in 10 minutes.”
A White House spokesman could not be immediately reached by The Post for comment.
At 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 Uyghur Muslims as a “genocide” and saying that “there is a strong and long bipartisan commitment to Taiwan. has been … [and] the commitment to Taiwan is something we hold on to strongly. “
Biden has not publicly acknowledged having received a congratulatory phone call from the Taiwanese president.