UK calls on China to allow access to Xinjiang after sanctions

[March 26, 2021]    LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Friday that China was targetting critics with sanctions and called on Beijing to allow international access to Xinjiang to verify the truth about human rights abuses in the province.

Britain's Foreign Affairs Secretary Dominic Raab looks on as he walks outside Downing Street in London, Britain, February 24, 2021. REUTERS/John Sibley

"It speaks volumes that, while the UK joins the international community in sanctioning those responsible for human rights abuses, the Chinese government sanctions its critics," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.

"If Beijing want to credibly rebut claims of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, it should allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights full access to verify the truth."

(Reporting by Sarah Young and Paul Sandle; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

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