Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Cathaoirleach back. I would be intrigued to see the changes that have taken place since the photograph to which he referred was taken; we all need to be depressed from time to time.

I echo what Senator Gavan said about the remuneration of staff in the Oireachtas. We should be mindful of the issues he has raised.

I welcome to the Gallery fifth class pupils from St. Pius X girls' national school in Terenure - Ms Barron's class - who are guests of Senator Ardagh. I know two of the pupils, Lucy Breen and Joni Long, and I hope they enjoy their tour here today. Also in the Gallery is a young gentleman named Noah Makris who does not attend the girls' national school, for obvious reasons, but who is shortly to go to Carnegie Hall to perform on the double bass. He is a very talented young man. I pay tribute to all of those people.

I will revert to a theme that I mentioned last week. I was listening to the radio last night and learned that the House of Representatives in Washington has adopted legislation to place sanctions on the red Chinese Government in respect of what is happening in Xinjiang province where the Uighurs are being herded into concentration camps and treated in an abominable way. Their human rights are being systematically destroyed, they are being politically brainwashed, told to speak Chinese rather than their native language, and they are, effectively, being kept in until they mend their ways, which means they cease to be Uighur and become more acclimatised as Chinese citizens. I mentioned to the Leader last week that we need to have the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade here to deal with this issue and to outline the Government's attitude to what is happening in the Xinjiang province and what the Government proposes to do at national, international and EU levels. We need to clearly express the condemnation of all right-thinking people about what is happening in red China.

There is considerable unrest in Hong Kong due to the absence of real democracy in the election of the local assembly. There are no elections at all worth talking about in red China. There is one portion of China - Taiwan - where there are free and fair elections and yet we, as a nation, have turned our backs on the area of China where there are free and fair elections, changes of government and freedom of speech for economic reasons, which is shameful. I would like the Minister to come in and explain clearly what Ireland's position is on this absolute undermining of human rights in Xinjiang province.