‘What’s a Uyghur?’: Republican presidential contender Francis Suarez fumbles during bizarre radio interview as the Mayor of Miami appears to be completely unaware of ongoing Muslim genocide in China
- Host Hugh Hewitt pressed the GOP long-shot candidate on his knowledge of foreign policy
- The Trump administration labeled the abuse of the Muslim minority as ‘genocide’
- Suarez later claimed he had misheard the question
GOP White House hopeful Francis Suarez made a major blunder on Tuesday when he admitted he was unaware of human rights abuses committed by China against Muslims.
Radio host Hugh Hewitt has asked Mayor of Miami Suarez if he planned to raise the plight of the Uyghurs, a Muslim minority from northern China who have been put in detention camps by the Chinese Communist Party.
‘What’s a Uyghur?’ Suarez asked the stunned conservative talk show host.
Hewitt then shot back at the mayor: ‘You’ve got to get smart on that.’
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez seemed stumped by a question on China’s human rights record
He had to be corrected by the host Hugh Hewitt, leading to an awkward exchange on air
Then in a bizarre exchange, Suarez said Hewitt had given him ‘homework’ in identifying exactly what a Uyghur is.
‘I’ll look at what a, what was it, what did you call it, a Uyghur,’ he said.
‘The Uyghurs. You really need to know about the Uyghurs, mayor,’ Hewitt told Suarez. ‘You’ve got to talk about it every day, okay?
Suarez later claimed on Twitter that he had misheard Hewitt’s correct pronunciation of the Muslim minority.
UN investigators interviewed former detainees of the Uyghur camps that Beijing calls ‘deradicalization centers’
The United Nations accused China last August of ‘serious human rights violations’ and possible crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.
The 48-page report, based on interviews with former detainees, said Beijing had repeatedly singled Uyghurs and other minorities between 2017 and 2019.
It uncovered ‘patterns of torture’ at the camps and cited ‘credible’ allegations of torture or ill-treatment, including cases of sexual violence.
UN investigators said ‘arbitrary and discriminatory detention’ of such groups amounted to a possible breach of international law.
Human rights groups believe more than one million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have been detained in the notoriously squalid camps.
China denies those claims and insists the camps are ‘learning facilities’ intended for de-radicalization.
In a parting shot at the CCP before leaving office, the Trump administration decided to brand the abuses as ‘genocide.’
That sparked an angry response China’s embassy in Washington, who called the statement ‘a farce used to discredit China.’
Officials rejected the U.S. declaration as a ‘gross interference in China’s internal affairs.’
Suarez’s presidential rival, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, hit out at Beijing during a foreign policy speech in Washington, D.C., earlier on Tuesday.
Nikki Haley lambasted China over its human rights record in a speech in Washington on Tuesday at a center-right think tank
‘I mean, genocide — we promised never again to look away from genocide, and it’s happening right now in China,’ Haley replied. ‘And no one is saying anything because they’re too scared of China.’
It follows Joe Biden calling Chinese leader Xi as ‘dictator’ last week, while former president Donald Trump said he ‘stood up to China like no administration has ever done before.’
Suarez launched a long-shot presidential campaign in a quickly widening GOP field earlier this month.
He was first elected mayor of Miami in 2017, then won reelection in 2021
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