Xinjiang tourism Uyghurs ask travel firms to stop visits amid human rights abuse
The Guardian|August 31, 2023
Uyghur advocates have asked western firms to stop selling package holidays that take visitors through Xinjiang, where human rights abuses by the authorities have been called a genocide by some governments.
Helen Davidson
Xinjiang tourism Uyghurs ask travel firms to stop visits amid human rights abuse

The request comes as China reopens to foreign visitors post-pandemic, and as its leader, Xi Jinping, calls for more tourism in the region.

A report by the US-based Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) said western tourism in the region risked supporting normalisation of Chinese government policies "intended to destroy Uyghur identity".

China's government has been accused of crimes against humanity and abuses, including torture, via its policies of mass detention, reeducation, surveillance, population control and oppression of religious and cultural expression in the region.

It denies all the accusations, saying its policies are aimed at countering extremism and alleviating poverty.

"Nothing under current conditions in East Turkistan aligns with travel company and industry commitments to protection and empowerment of local communities," the group said, using the traditional name of the region and its title as an independent state between 1944 and 1949.

The UHRP report described tours offered by seven travel firms with offices in western countries. Some were advertising tours for this year and next, while others had not offered any since before the pandemic.

Denne historien er fra August 31, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra August 31, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA THE GUARDIANSe alt
Post Office boss asked about his pay and bonuses 'more than expected', says board member
The Guardian

Post Office boss asked about his pay and bonuses 'more than expected', says board member

The chair of the Post Office's remuneration committee has said she was surprised at how frequently the company's boss, Nick Read, asked about his pay and bonuses, given the pressure it was under due to the ongoing fallout from the Horizon IT scandal.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Murdoch property group raises offer for Rightmove to £6.2bn as deadline looms
The Guardian

Murdoch property group raises offer for Rightmove to £6.2bn as deadline looms

Britain's booming wine-growing industry has been compared to \"California in the 70s\", with annual production more than doubling to 12m bottles a year, according to a report.

time-read
1 min  |
September 28, 2024
Viral load Social media putting rare species in danger
The Guardian

Viral load Social media putting rare species in danger

With its striking plumage, impressive size and rowdy displays, a capercaillie is many birders' dream. Only about 530 of the woodland grouse survive in the wild, most in Scotland's Cairngorms national park.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Toll of 20 dead in storm-hit south-eastern US could rise as flooding hampers rescues
The Guardian

Toll of 20 dead in storm-hit south-eastern US could rise as flooding hampers rescues

Hurricane Helene has reportedly killed at least 20 people and left 4m consumers without power across the south-eastern United States after crashing ashore in north-western Florida late on Thursday as a potent category 4 hurricane, according to officials.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Closing borders Electoral pressures put EU's freedom of movement under threat
The Guardian

Closing borders Electoral pressures put EU's freedom of movement under threat

In 2015, when more than 1.3 million people headed to Europe, mostly fleeing a brutal war in Syria, the response of Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, was to say: \"Wir schaffen das\" (\"We can manage this\"), and open the country's borders.

time-read
1 min  |
September 28, 2024
Fight does not end here, say critics, as Wimbledon wins the go-ahead to expand
The Guardian

Fight does not end here, say critics, as Wimbledon wins the go-ahead to expand

Wimbledon's controversial plans to build 39 new tennis courts have been given the green light after a deputy mayor of London ruled that the \"very significant benefits\" of the scheme outweighed any potential harm to the environment.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Sue Gray Advisers to the PM are often targets of sniping but is it sustainable?
The Guardian

Sue Gray Advisers to the PM are often targets of sniping but is it sustainable?

For someone who was not even in Liverpool for the Labour party conference, Sue Gray was the subject of a remarkable amount of conversation.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Revealed Alli gave PM a further £16,000 gift of clothing
The Guardian

Revealed Alli gave PM a further £16,000 gift of clothing

Keir Starmer was given a further £16,000 worth of clothes by the Labour peer Waheed Alli, which was declared as money for his private office, the Guardian can reveal.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Tributes paid to 'one of a kind' in seven decades on stage and screen
The Guardian

Tributes paid to 'one of a kind' in seven decades on stage and screen

Maggie Smith, the prolific, awardwinning actor described by peers as being \"one of a kind\" and possessed of a \"sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent\", has died aged 89.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Diplomacy Netanyahu insists Israel is winning on 'seven fronts'
The Guardian

Diplomacy Netanyahu insists Israel is winning on 'seven fronts'

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, shrugged off global appeals for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza yesterday, using a defiant speech at the UN general assembly to denounce the world body as an \"antisemitic swamp\" and insist Israel is \"winning\" its multi-front wars.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 28, 2024