Sir Ian Duncan Smith, a former leader of the Conservative Party, has slammed “bizarre” UK foreign aid handouts to China, which has a terrible human rights record, including coerced abortion against Uyghurs.
His comments followed an Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) report showing that China received around £48 million in UK overseas aid in 2021/22.
Sir Ian Duncan Smith said: “China is now the second largest economy in the world. It seems bizarre that we would be giving aid to China given their own financial position. Whatever else the Government says it’s time for that to stop and for that aid to be given to countries that genuinely need the assistance and help in developing their economies.”
The former Tory leader has been very critical of China, especially its treatment of the Uyghur minority population, considered by many, including the independent Uyghur Tribunal, to constitute genocide.
Speaking to the BBC in December 2021, Sir Ian Duncan Smith, stated: “The British government said the evidence needed to be assessed by a competent court, well it doesn’t get more competent than this…
“The government now needs to stop messing around. The genocide taking place in Xinjiang has got to dominate our relationship with China.”
Complicit – sign our Petition
SPUC has launched an urgent petition calling on the UK Government to end funding to China where coerced abortion has been imposed on the Uyghur minority population.
The petition follows the release of COMPLICIT, a SPUC report highlighting China’s campaign of forced abortion and sterilisation against Uyghurs. SPUC has called on the UK Government to cease all aid to China’s brutal regime.
A recent poll found that nearly two-thirds of the British public believe the UK should cut abortion funding in countries such as China where concerns exist about women being coerced into abortion.
Speaking at the report’s launch event in March, Jacob Rees-Mogg MP said: “That British taxpayers’ money should be used to support one of the most evil, totalitarian regimes in the world, that forces women who want to have children to abort their babies, if you don’t think that is a scandal, then what human rights abuse would you think is a scandal?”
“Cease funding immediately”, says SPUC
SPUC’s Michael Robinson, Executive Director (Public Affairs and Legal Services), said: “It is inexplicable that the UK still sends foreign aid to a country where genocide, including coerced abortion, has been proved without any shadow of a doubt to be true.
“The UK must cease funding immediately. Failure to do so would mean our government is complicit in China’s horrific crimes against Uyghur mothers and unborn children. There is simply no excuse.
“That the UK government should in our name send millions of pounds in aid to China, where state-enforced abortion is the order of the day, is a scandal. SPUC implores everyone who reads this to sign our petition and send a powerful message to Westminster demanding that our leaders show genuine leadership and take action to stop this.”