The Situation of Muslim Uyghurs in China (2019) 4:17
Rome (CNN) -
Pope Francis publicly named China's Uighur minority among a list of the world's persecuted peoples for the first time, breaking his silence on allegations of widespread human rights abuses in Beijing's Xinjiang region.
Pope Francis speaks
"I often think of the persecuted peoples: the Rohingya, the poor Uighurs, the Yazidi - what ISIS did to them was really cruel - or the Christians in Egypt and Pakistan killed by bombs that exploded while praying in the church," Francis says in a new book, "Let Us Dream: The Path to A Better Future," published Monday.
USA: up to two million Uyghurs, in detention centers
The US Department has said that as many as two million Uighurs, who are predominantly Muslim, and other minority groups have been taken to huge detention centers in the Xinjiang region, in the far west of China, where former detainees have described having been subjected to indoctrination, physical abuse, and sterilization.
Beijing insists the camps are vocational training centers built to deal with the threat of religious extremism and denies allegations of widespread human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
The pope does not elaborate on Uighur-related issues in the book outside of the brief mention, while speaking of other persecuted groups, such as the Rohingya, in more detail.
The book, a broad reflection on Francis' vision of a post-coronavirus world, was written together with papal biographer Austen Ivereigh during the summer of 2020.
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Relationship between the Vatican and China
The Vatican recently extended a controversial agreement with Beijing on the appointment of bishops in mainland China.
Beijing had long insisted on having the last word on all bishop appointments in the country, but the 2018 agreement ended decades of tension between the two sides, which broke formal diplomatic ties in 1951.
The details of the deal have never been made public and have been criticized by some, including US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
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Speaking at a regular press conference on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Pope Francis' inclusion of the Uyghurs on a list of persecuted peoples was "totally unfounded."
“There are 56 ethnic groups in China and the Uighur ethnic group is an equal member of the great family of the Chinese nation.
The Chinese government has always treated (all) minority groups equally and protected their legitimate rights and interests, ”he said.
Pope Francis Uyghurs
