23rd January 2023
Terminate Twinning Towns and Cities Schemes between the UK and PRC – A Statement by GATPM
The Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM) supports the timely calls to terminate the twinning towns and cities schemes between the United Kingdom (UK) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Whilst we recognise the significance of these twinning schemes between countries globally which also enhances the promotion of cultural understanding, cooperation, people to people exchanges and share each other’s values amongst many other benefits, but the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its brutal regime utilise such scheme to legitimise their brutal rule built on violence, intimidation and crackdowns against its own people as well as those in occupied neighbouring countries.
In Tibet and East Turkestan (Ch: Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), the CCP and its brutal regime are still implementing hardline policies against the Tibetans and the Uyghur Muslims. In China proper, the persecution of Falun Gong and Christian faith groups are living examples of the deliberate crushing of what should be private beliefs by the Chinese regime. And the organ harvesting of innocent Falun Gong practitioners and other persecuted minorities represents a serious crime being committed by the Communist Chinese State. The curtailment of fundamental rights and freedoms, including free speech, enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong for centuries, is the latest example of the CCP regime’s direct interference and gross violations of human rights in Asia.
Mao Tsetung, regarded as the most prominent figure of the Chinese Communist Party in modern history, enjoyed absolute power. Mao’s catastrophic actions against his own people were ruthless and inhumane. He did not hesitate to deploy any means within his power to defeat his opponents. His fatal policies incurred immeasurable losses – of people, traditions and artefacts – not only in mainland China but across China’s occupied territories, which include Tibet, East Turkestan and Southern Mongolia. The Great Famine alone, from 1959 to 1962, cost 20 million lives or more.
In the memoirs of Mao Tsetung’s personal physician, Dr Zhisui Li’s The Private Life of Chairman Mao, he records that Mao “did not care” when millions of people were dying during the Great Famine. Recalling Mao’s ruthlessness, Dr Li wrote: “In 1957, in a speech in Moscow, Mao said he was willing to lose 300 million people – half of China’s population. Even if China lost half its population, Mao said, the country would suffer no great loss. We could produce more people.”
President Xi Jinping, who has recently anointed himself on a par with Mao Tsetung, is another crazed Chinese dictator in the 21st century. Contrary to his talk of “win-win” schemes, through his Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in countries around the world Xi Jinping is plainly pursuing his expansionist global ambition. Xi’s political and military intentions behind the BRI projects are poised to cause severe threats to global peace and security. Awareness of the reprehensible and ongoing actions carried out by the CCP under Xi Jinping is crucial at a time when the regime is exporting its malign activities outside mainland China, including here in the UK.
The Spanish-based human rights organisation, Safeguard Defenders, recently reported:
“In addition to the previously revealed 54 stations, Safeguard Defenders documented the declared establishment by local Chinese public security authorities of at least 48 additional Chinese Overseas Police Service Stations, bringing the total to 102 with an overall claimed in-country presence in 53 countries.”
At least three such Chinese Overseas Police Service Stations are deployed in the UK, according to Safeguard Defenders, which constantly engage in the surveillance of Chinese nationals as well as all those who are human rights activists, including British citizens.
The free world must do all it can to stop the CCP from using its economic muscle to hoodwink gullible leaders into supporting its self-interested aims, which run counter to freedom and democracy. The CCP and its rogue leaders must be held accountable for their crimes against humanity over the past 100 years.
We therefore urge the Sheffield City Council and all other stakeholders, including the UK government, to defer and terminate twinning towns and cities schemes with the People’s Republic of China until Beijing respects the fundamental values such as human rights, religious freedom, democracy, equality, justice and free speech.
The Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM) is a UK-based NGO which seeks to highlight gross violations of human rights and curtailment of political and religious freedoms, including in China.
ISSUED BY:
Tsering Passang, Founder and Chairman
Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM)
Twitter: @AllianceTibet
Email: info@gatpm.com
Mob: +44 7927 376 532
FB: http://www.facebook.com/GATPM2020
USEFUL LINK:
Safeguard Defenders: https://safeguarddefenders.com/en
Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities 