Ko weighs in on Xinjiang cottonBy Lee I-chia and Shi Hsiao-guang / Staff reportersChina needs to improve its human rights, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday, adding that global anti-China sentiment would last for the next 15 years. Ko was responding to reporters’ questions about a recent Xinjiang cotton controversy. “The trade war between the US and China will certainly continue, but China still has to improve its human rights” record, Ko said. “Human rights is a universal value, so many countries are very concerned about the forced labor of Uighurs and other Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region and their human rights. People in Taiwan have very limited knowledge about what is happening in Xinjiang, so Chinese authorities and the parties concerned should make information transparent, enabling more people to understand the working and living conditions of cotton farmers in Xinjiang, which would help resolve the debate, he said.

Source: Taipei Times March 28, 2021 15:56 UTC