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The Chinese government has not been invited to the Queen’s funeral, an organization of lawmakers and peers said.
Lead Conservative MPs Tim Loughton and Sir Iain Duncan Smith are among those who have written to speakers for the House of Commons and Lords to express their concern.
They described as “extraordinary” that the “architects” of the genocide opposed to the Uighur minority were invited.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is on the guest list for the state funeral but must attend.
His visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this week mark the first time he has left China since the beginning of the Covid pandemic.
The South China Morning Post reported that Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan will attend the funeral, citing diplomatic sources.
Who is invited to the Queen’s funeral and who is not?
Who are the Uighurs?
On Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry said Beijing was “considering sending a high-level delegation” to the funeral, without providing additional main points.
Some 500 foreign heads of state and dignitaries are expected, and invitations will be sent to the heads of any state with which the UK has diplomatic relations.
However, representatives of Russia and Belarus were not invited due to the invasion of Ukraine, nor of Myanmar due to the breakdown of diplomatic relations following last year’s military coup.
Representatives from Syria, Venezuela and Afghanistan are also on the guest list, government resources told the BBC, and only North Korea, Iran and Nicaragua have been asked to send ambassadors.
The letter to the Spokesmen of the Commons and the Lords, which he first reported through Politico, also signed through Lord Alton, his Crossbench counterpart, and Baroness Kennedy, his Labour counterpart.
All signatories have been sanctioned by China for their vocal complaints of the country, that is, for their remedy to the Uighur Muslim minority group.
Last year, the House of Commons said a genocide against Uighurs was taking place in northwest China, and it is estimated that more than a million people were detained in camps in the Xinjiang region.
China has denied the allegations, the camps are “re-education” facilities that are used to combat terrorism.
In their letter, the parliamentarians and their peers wrote: “We are very involved in being informed that the Chinese government has been invited to attend the state funeral next week, other countries, Russia, Belarus and Myanmar are excluded.
“Given that the UK Parliament voted to recognise the genocide committed by the Chinese government opposed to the Uighur people, it is normal that the architects of this genocide are treated more favourably than countries that have been excluded. “
They added that this was “particularly inappropriate”, given that seven MPs had been sanctioned by the Chinese government and the ambassador was banned from visiting the Palace of Westminster.
They also called for assurances that Chinese government officials would not be allowed into the Palace of Westminster, saying it would be “totally inappropriate”.
The organization said it had written to the foreign minister about it.