Concern voiced at growing human rights abuses

A possible ban by the EU on goods from China which may have been produced or sourced from forced labour has been welcomed by a leading human rights group, speaking at a conference at Press Club Brussels.

The ban is thought to be considered by the European Commission as a response to growing concern about alleged rights abuses in China.

Critics of the Beijing regime say those companies in Europe and elsewhere that do business with China should be penalised along with a ban on goods sourced from alleged forced labour.

The issue has been pushed up the agenda of late by the plight of the Uyghur people in China who, it is alleged, face persecution by the Chinese authorities.

This and a possible ban on goods was the subject of a debate on Friday at the Brussels Press Club.

The Keynote speaker was Ben Rogers, founder of Hong Kong Watch, a non-governmental organisation based in the UK that was established to monitor the conditions of human rights, freedoms and rule of law in Hong Kong.

Speaking via a link from London, he said, “This is an incredibly important topic and I warmly welcome the EU proposal on a possible goods ban.

“The US has already gone down this path to ban imports made by forced labour. I would urge the EU to do the same

“The plight of the Uyghurs is being recognised. This is being given serious consideration. But the Uyghurs are not the only aspect of the current human rights crisis in China.

“We have seen what Beijing has done to Hong Kong, dismantling its freedoms and autonomy, plus there is Tibet and the persecution of Christians. That is why I support the EU proposal.”

Rogers also condemned the “shocking support for China from the majority of Muslim countries”.

He said: “On the question of the media, I would say coverage of this issue is not as good as it should be but, at the same time, the issue is much higher up the media agenda than it used to be. 

He added: “Yes, the media should do more to expose this but this coverage has been an important factor in bringing the issue further up the agenda than it was.

“We live in a society where we want things as cheap and quick as possible but there is a growing awareness of the problem. More and more people are becoming aware of this but maybe not quickly enough. We need to get information out there so people can make an informed choice and also diversify the sourcing of goods and components for consumer products and not rely so much on China.”

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