A prominent human rights activist says Taiwan must be vigilant about China's threats or face atrocities like those seen in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. Uyghur advocate Nury Turkel said on Thursday that other democracies need to stand together against China's authoritarian rule.
Turkel was born in a concentration camp in Xinjiang, and has worked to spread awareness about China's Uyghur genocide. Turkel says few countries have condemned China's actions in Xinjiang as a genocide, despite leaked Chinese internal documents and survivors' testimonies.
Turkel says China has plans to "re-educate" Taiwan and force it to be compliant, behavior that can already be seen in Uyghur concentration camps. He says China quickly dismantled Hong Kong's human rights protections and that Taiwan must stay strong because it is a "democracy worth fighting for.”
Turkel says Taiwan and the rest of the world can help the Uyghur community by spreading awareness of the genocide and refusing to buy Chinese products. He says the UN must take these human rights violations seriously, otherwise China may continue to spread its authoritarian rule.