Three demonstrations in support of persecuted communities in China were held this Sunday, May 5 in Paris, on the eve of the reception of the Chinese head of state, Xi Jinping, by his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. The two leaders are due to celebrate sixty years of diplomatic relations between their countries. The Uyghur Institute of Europe organized an event in the form of a play performed by members of the Uyghur community in France.
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Winnie the Pooh and Napoleon seated around a glass of wine. This is how the meeting this Monday between Xi Jinpingin the guise of Winnie the Pooh, and Emmanuel Macron – Napoleon in this play. The cartoon character Winnie the Pooh is banned in Chinabecause it is used on social networks to mock the head of state.
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Uyghur Institute of Europe President Dilnur Reyhan denounces Xi Jinping’s state visit France. “ In a context where Emmanuel Macron bans Vladimir Putin, how can he receive the person responsible for the genocide of a people?she is indignant to Killian Tanguyour on-site journalist. The life of Uighurs is worthless in the eyes of our president. He prefers the executioner ! »
During this two-day visit, Jean-Claude Samouiller, president of Amnesty International France, hopes that the issue of human rights will be addressed. “ This year marks the 35th commemoration of the Tiananmen Massacre », he recalls. Uighur intellectual Ilham Tohti has also been in prison for ten years. “ All these birthdays must be commemorated », he judges.
Since 2017, more than a million Uighurs have been transferred to “re-education camps”, according to several international NGOs.
The Uighurs are the predominantly Muslim people living in the Xinjiang region of China. In January 2022, the French National Assembly adopted a resolution denouncing China’s “genocide” of the Uighurs, asking the French government to do the same.
After his state visit to France, Xi Jinping will travel to Serbia and then Hungary, in a context of trade and strategic tensions with Europe.
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