Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

An article in The Economistthis week refers to Ireland being an unlikely diplomatic superpower. The point is that relative to our population size, we hold extraordinary clout in Europe. The Brexit negotiations being effectively shaped around our interests is an example of that. The article also mentioned our access to the corridors of power in the United States. It might have mentioned our membership of the UN Security Council. Unfortunately, it did not give much focus to how we use our diplomatic clout on issues happening in the wider world. I believe that we have on occasions maintained a shocking silence in the face of some incredible human rights abuses worldwide.

Late last year, Senator McDowell and I raised the issue of the treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority in north-west China. At least 1 million Uyghur people have been herded into what are effectively concentration camps to be "re-educated". There are at least 85 camps. Children are separated from their parents to be brainwashed, forced to speak Chinese and made to abandon their own culture. At least 10% of the entire Uyghur population in the Xinjiang region is now incarcerated. The aim is to systematically destroy their culture. As one writer put it, in that province, every day is Kristallnacht. Needless to say, the Chinese Government lied through its teeth about this for several years until the truth was exposed. In recent weeks, we have had even more grotesque information revealed, with China forcing Uyghur women to be sterilised or fitted with contraceptive devices in an attempt to limit the Muslim population. Pregnant women are threatened with internment in camps if they do not agree to have abortions in a clear, systematic attempt to reduce the Uyghur population.

There has been silence from our Government and the EU, and a conspicuous silence from the political left on this issue, all things considered. Even among the green movement, discussion of China tends to focus on the carbon footprint of our beef exports to China more than the barbarism of the Chinese state to which we are selling that beef. There has been complete silence from the leading Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia. Of course, they are not bastions of human rights, but one would think they would have a word or two to say about the mass persecution of fellow Muslims. They too seem to be cowed into silence because of their economic dependence on trade with China.

There are other issues that we could talk about. I intend to raise the issue of Hong Kong in the coming days. It is time Ireland joined Britain and other countries in establishing an international contact group to keep pressure on China regarding the defence of human rights and freedoms that we here all take for granted in Hong Kong. Those freedoms are now under severe threat with the imposition of the new Chinese security law. What of our attitude to China's treatment of Taiwan? As far back as 1990, the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Gerry Collins, when asked in the Dáil if we would open diplomatic relations with China, baldly replied, "Ireland recognises the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate Government of China". It was Taiwan that handled the Covid crisis when China was keeping schtum about the emergence of that threat to international health and safety. We need to reassess our attitude to Taiwan and to be vocal on the issue of Hong Kong. It all comes under the umbrella of a consideration of how we regard China, which is a major threat to freedom in the world. If it is bad now, it will be much worse in 20 years. We need to have a debate on this issue.