Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with German Foreign Minister Annalina Beierbock on May 9, ending a "less productive" visit to Germany. Then he came to France on May 10 and met with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. He arrived in Norway on May 12, the last stop of a 3-nation tour of Europe. However, at the moment Qin Gang, who tried to show China as a force to end the Russia-Ukraine war, was meeting with Norway's foreign minister, Anneken Heitfeld, angry sounds of joint protests by Uyghurs and other human rights organizations were heard in front of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs building.
The chairman of the Norwegian Uyghur Committee, Mr. Balashiyar Umar, told us that the protest in Oslo, the capital of Norway, was jointly organized by Norwegian Uyghur Committee, Rafto Foundation, Amnesty International, Tibet, Norwegian Taiwan Committee and Norwegian Hong Kong Committee.
Mr. Samet Abla, the vice-chairman of the executive committee, talked about the purpose of organizing the protest and the actual situation of the protest.
Mr. Ola Alvestuen, a member of parliament from the Norwegian Left Party, also participated in the demonstration. He asked, "Why did you participate in this demonstration?" answered our question: "Today, when Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang came to Norway, I saw fit to join the protest line of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Taiwanese and Hongkongers and show my sympathy for them. I am aware of the serious human rights violations against the Uyghurs. In standardized terms, more than 1 million Uyghurs are languishing in Chinese prison camps. In fact, the number may be higher. But the Norwegian government has not been so tough on China lately. Not daring to criticize China. We are very sorry for this. To remain silent about the actions of a genocidal regime is tantamount to supporting it. Things shouldn't be this way.''
Mr. Rasmus Hanson, a member of parliament from the Green Party, also participated in the protest. When he received our interview, he said, "We are seeing criticism that Norway is moving away from its values due to China's pressure. Do you think that's true?' Answered our question. "I think the criticisms are valid," he said. It is disappointing to me and many people that the Norwegian government is unable to condemn the oppression of the Uyghurs and Tibetans by this authoritarian country, China. For a democratic country like Norway to kneel to China is an insult to the country. For us and for Norway, this is unacceptable and shameful!'
There are various opinions about Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang's visit to 3 European countries. According to German media analysis, Qing Gang conducted the interview for the following purposes. One is to move Europe further away from the United States and closer to China. To comply with French President Macron's initiative to "build Europe as the 3rd pole after the United States and China". The second is to increase the intensity of economic agreements with powerful EU countries such as Germany, France and Norway, and make them less aggressive on human rights issues, including Taiwan and the Uyghur genocide. Third, due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the European Union has imposed an embargo on some foreign companies that they believe are "helping the Russians", and some large companies in western China have been affected by this. The ultimate goal of Chin Gang's 3-country visit is to rescue the Chinese companies that have been penalized.
Amsterdam's city council has passed a resolution not to buy Chinese-made cameras
On May 4, the city council of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, approved a draft resolution of the city council not to buy cameras and some high-tech products imported from China. The decision prohibits the purchase of cameras and certain technological products manufactured by companies involved in human rights abuses and genocide against Chinese Uighurs.
The draft resolution was submitted by Mr. Sulaiman Pidinju, a member of parliament from the "Dunk" party in the Netherlands, and was approved by the majority of members of the Amsterdam City Council on May 4.
Mr. Sulaiman Pidinju, who is from the "Dank" party in the Netherlands and currently serves as a member of parliament in the Amsterdam City Council, received our interview and said: "For many years, we have been presenting the genocide and dehumanizing pressure policy of China against our Uyghur brothers and sisters in the Netherlands. In recent years, it was revealed that China had sold cameras to the Netherlands that were used to suppress Uyghurs. It was revealed that the cameras were at risk of being used by Chinese espionage in the Netherlands. Moreover, if Chinese companies make money by selling these cameras in the Netherlands, they may use the money to suppress the Uyghurs. So we asked the Netherlands to ban the use of cameras sold by Chinese companies. Our request was approved by the Amsterdam City Council. According to the decision, the use of cameras made by Chinese companies in the city of Amsterdam is banned. After that, technology items were not purchased from companies involved in the Uyghur genocide.
According to an article published by CBS News in the United States on December 4th, China has now entered the era of "total surveillance and control of citizens" and has installed 400 million cameras all over the country, becoming the world's largest surveillance country. Moreover, for many years, Uyghurs are being monitored 24 hours a day by these cameras. Mr. Sulaiman Pidinju stated that there are 12 provinces in the Netherlands, and more provinces and cities in the Netherlands will impose restrictions on trade relations with China.
He said: "I think that such a decision will be adopted in other Dutch cities as well." The EU Parliament is also preparing for this. When EU member states import goods from China, Chinese companies are checked to see if they respect human rights. So I think that in the coming years, the goods of many Chinese companies involved in the genocide will be banned in European countries."
Mr. Omar Bekali, a witness of the camp in the Netherlands, said that members of parliament from the opposition parties in the Netherlands are slowly realizing that massive human rights violations are taking place in China, that the conditions of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China are getting worse day by day, and even that the Chinese Uyghurs are being subjected to genocide. He emphasized that the decision passed by the Amsterdam City Council will be passed by other Dutch provincial councils in the near future.
On February 26, 2022, the Dutch parliament recognized China's oppressive policy against Uyghurs as "genocide" and "crime against humanity."