PUBLISHED: 02:25, Fri, Jan 8, 2021 | UPDATED: 02:26, Fri, Jan 8, 2021
Link copiedThe Tory MP for Tonbridge, Edenbrige and Malling responded to a post from China’s embassy in the US which hailed Xinjiang as a place were women were “emancipated”. China’s embassy said after “eradicating extremism” in the region, Uighur women were “more confident and independent”.
Mr Tugendhat, also chair of the China Research Group, lashed out at the embassy’s post.
He said: “Claiming that ethnic cleansing is a form of gender equality is horrific.”
The Chinese embassy posted a China Daily article which said the eradication of extremism has given Uighur women “more autonomy”.
It cites a decrease in the birthrate and natural population growth of Uighur’s in 2018 as responsible for the “eradication of religious extremism”.
READ MORE: China cover-up claims explode after investigators entry blocked in ‘misunderstanding’
China news: Tom Tugendhat has rubbished a report about gender quality and Uighur's in Xinjiang (Image: PA)
China news: The chair of the China Research Group said the population decrease in Xinjiang was 'ethnic cleansing' (Image: TWITTER)
Chinese authorities in the Xinjiang autonomous region have reportedly forced much of the Uighur Muslim population into re-education camps.
Sayragul Sautbay, a medical doctor now living in Sweden, published a book last year detailing the “humiliation and violence” she suffered while detained in a re-education camp.
Ms Sautbay witnessed forced sterilisations, beatings and alleged Chinese guards sexually abused the population.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, she added: “Every Friday, we were forced to eat pork meat. They have intentionally chosen a day that is holy for the Muslims.
“And if you reject it, you would get a harsh punishment.”
China news: Reports allege re-education camps for Uighur's in Xinjiang host forced sterilisations and abuse (Image: PA)
China news: Sayragul Sautbay said in an interview she was made to eat pork by Chinese authorities (Image: PA)
China denies human rights abuses in the re-education camps, with the China Daily
