Dharamshala: The members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) on Friday wrote to 15 global legislatures, expressing deep concerns over the PRC’s conduction of mass DNA collection in Tibet and East Turkistan region to enhance surveillance on minorities, including overwhelming numbers of children, without individual’s consent.
Apprising the legislators of the systematic-mass DNA collection reported by the Human Rights Watch and others, IPAC appealed to them for immediate actions to investigate and suspend commercial activities with companies like ThermoFisher Scientific and PRC-state-funded gene firm BGI Group who provide the government with technologies to carry out biometric surveillance.
Senator Penny Wong (Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia), Hadja Lahbib (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium), Mélanie Joly (Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada), Jan Lipavský (Minister for Foreign Affairs of Czech Republic), Joseph Borrell (High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy), Catherine Colonna (Minister for European and Foreign Affairs of France), Simon Coveney (Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ireland), Gabrielius Landsbergis (Minister for Foreign Affairs of Lithuania), Nanaia Mahuta (Minister for Foreign Affairs of New Zealand), Nikola Dimitrov (Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia), Bogdan Aurescu (Minister for Foreign Affairs of Romania), Tobias Billström (Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden), Ignazio Cassis (Minister for Foreign Affairs of Switzerland), Dmytro Kuleba (Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine), and James Cleverly (Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom) were the group of legislatures who received a copy of the letter sent by the IPAC.
The letter condemning China’s illicit and illegitimate collection of DNA samples was undersigned by IPAC members, namely Senator Claire Chandler, Australia Senator Janet Rice, Australia, Samuel Cogolati MP, Belgium, Georges Dallemagne MP, Belgium, Arif Virani MP, Canada, Ondřej Benešík MP, Czech Republic, Eva Decroix MP, Czech Republic, Senator André Gattolin, France, Engin Eroglu MEP, EU, Anna Fotyga MEP, EU, Malcolm Byrne MP, Ireland, Mary Seery Kearney MP, Ireland, Senator Michael McDowell, Ireland, Senator David Norris, Ireland, Žygimantas Pavilionis MP, Lithuania, Dovilė Šakalienė MP, Lithuania, Simon O’Connor MP, New Zealand, Antonio Miloshoski MP, Republic of North Macedonia, Cătălin Teniță MP, Romania, Niels Paarup-Petersen MP, Sweden, Fabian Molina MP, Switzerland, Nicolas Walder MP, Switzerland, Oleksandr Merezhko MP, Ukraine, Lord David Alton MP, United Kingdom, Lord James Bethell MP, United Kingdom, Judith Cummins MP, United Kingdom, Timothy Loughton MP, United Kingdom, Siobhain McDonagh MP, United Kingdom, Marie Rimmer MP, United Kingdom.
Click here to read the original letter on the official website of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.