As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in
Canada for high-level talks, a leading Uyghur international advocacy
group called on the Canadian government to confront China’s ongoing
human rights abuses and reject any diplomatic reset that ignores
accountability.
Yi’s three-day visit (from May 28 to 30) reportedly comes amid
renewed efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation through trade and
strategic agreements between the two countries.
This marks the rst visit by a Chinese Foreign Minister to Canada in
nearly a decade.
Canada-based Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP) appealed to
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Foreign Minister Anita
Anand to publicly raise the mass detention and surveillance of
Uyghurs in East Turkistan, also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region of China, during their meeting with the Chinese
Foreign Minister.
It further urged the Canadian leaders to highlight the ongoing forced
labour and supply-chain abuses and the growing pattern of
transnational repression by Beijing targeting Uyghur activists and
human rights defenders in Canada.
The URAP warns that Canada risks undermining its own human rights
commitments by advancing memoranda of understanding and broader
strategic partnership agreements with Beijing amid the persistent
“genocide” and “transnational repression” against Uyghurs.
The group also raised concerns over “undisclosed” Canada–China law
enforcement cooperation agreements and Royal Canadian Mounted
Police (RCMP) memoranda of understanding involving information
sharing, investigative assistance, and coordination with Chinese
public security authorities.
Citing critics, it said that such agreements lack transparency and
parliamentary scrutiny and may expose vulnerable communities to
further risk.
“We cannot normalise relations with the Chinese government while
Uyghurs remain imprisoned, families are separated, and survivors of
repression continue to seek justice. Economic cooperation must never
come at the expense of human rights,” said URAP’s Executive Director,
Mehmet Tohti.
The URAP called for renewed attention to the case of Canadian citizen
Huseyin Celil, a Uyghur-Canadian who has remained imprisoned in
China since 2006 after being detained during a visit to Uzbekistan and
later transferred to Chinese custody
His family and supporters,it said, have long criticised Beijing for
refusing to recognise his Canadian citizenship and denying
meaningful consular access.
“The continued imprisonment of Huseyin Celil is a painful reminder
that Canadian citizens are not protected when the government
prioritises diplomatic convenience over human rights,” said Tohti.
Furthermore, the URAP raised alarm over expanded visa-free travel
arrangements with China, arguing that closer mobility and diplomatic
normalisation should not proceed while Beijing continues to persecute
Uyghurs, silence dissidents, and intimidate diaspora communities
abroad.
