Joe Biden excuses Uigher genocide as difference in “norms”

Biden, who hasn’t publicly acknowledged receiving a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan’s president, has kicked off his relationship with China by throwing the Uighers under the bus. Asked at a CNN town hall about his recent conversation with Xi Jinping and whether he brought up the human rights abuses being perpetrated by the Communist regime, Biden began by explaining Xi’s rationale. From the New York Post:

The commander-in-chief made the remarks after being asked during his CNN town hall Tuesday evening about his recent conversation with his Chinese counterpart, starting his response by relaying Xi’s justification for the abuses. “If you know anything about Chinese history, it has always been, the time when China has been victimized by the outer world is when they haven’t been unified at home,” Biden began. “So the central — well, vastly overstated — the central principle of Xi Jinping is that there must be a united, tightly controlled China. And he uses his rationale for the things he does based on that.”

China, a nation that has faced a wave of international scrutiny over the past few years relating to its activities in dismantling democracy in Hong Kong and its refusal to accept responsibility for negligence and a lack of transparency at the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, has not let global tensions stop its mass internment of Uighurs in Xinjiang province.

President Biden continued in his response that he is “not going to speak out against” the Chinese Communist Party’s belligerent actions in Hong Kong, against the Uighurs, or in Taiwan.

“I point out to him no American president can be sustained as a president, if he doesn’t reflect the values of the United States,” the US president continued. “And so the idea that I am not going to speak out against what he’s doing in Hong Kong, what he’s doing with the Uighurs in western mountains of China and Taiwan — trying to end the one China policy by making it forceful … [Xi] gets it.”

“Culturally there are different norms that each country and their leaders are expected to follow,” he continued. The “norms” in China, as shown in a recent BBC News exposé, include systemic torture and rape occurring in Uighur concentration camps. Following the release of the BBC report, China banned the outlet in its territory. Asked during the town hall whether there would be repercussions for the CCP over the genocide, Biden sidestepped the question, saying the US would “reassert our role as spokespersons for human rights at the UN and other agencies.”

This explains why Beijing was rooting for a Biden victory. China is one of the only nations that has come out of the COVID-19 pandemic stronger, using brutal crackdowns to stop the spread while Western nations flail. They’ve already taken back total control of Hong Kong, stepped up persecution of minorities, and are indicating that Taiwan’s days may soon be numbered. Based on Biden’s responses, it seems doubtful that the Taiwanese can expect much support.

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