Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, the BBC did the world a service by releasing documents hacked from the Xinjiang police relating to the Uyghur population in that part of China. There is nowhere for China to hide now on this. There is no doubt that what we are witnessing in Xinjiang is a genocide. It is a programme of re-education and the forced separation of families, and all the other awful things that we know are happening. Given that we know they are happening, we as a Government, a country, and a community, have a responsibility to do something about that. The very least that we can do is have a debate about it. We should bring the Minister for Foreign Affairs and other members of the Government in here to ask them what steps Ireland can take to bring to China's attention that we will not accept the carry-on and appalling behaviour of China in relation to the minority population in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region. It is unacceptable and there is now nowhere for China to hide. We know it is happening. There is conclusive proof. One of the most respected international journalistic organisations, the BBC, has verified this information. It spent quite a lot of time carefully doing so. We now know it is happening. Anybody who had any doubts now knows that it is happening, and that includes the Irish Government. The time has come for us to say "Stop" to that and to send a very clear message to China that it cannot be allowed to act with impunity in respect of its own citizens in the way it has. It must end.