China set to ratify extradition treaty with Turkey, Chinese legislator says

[xizhimen]

China set to ratify extradition treaty with Turkey, Chinese legislator says​

• Deal signed in 2017 but yet to receive parliamentary approval is seen by Beijing as central to its counterterrorism efforts, expert says
• China’s foreign affairs vice-minister has lashed out at East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which Beijing blames for violent attacks in Xinjiang and elsewhere

Published: 3:00am, 26 Dec, 2020


China is set to ratify an extradition treaty with Turkey, home to one of the largest Uygur diasporas, in a move experts say is focused on counterterrorism cooperation.
Zhang Yesui, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress, reported on the progress of discussions on Wednesday at the ongoing session of the lawmaking body, which ends on Saturday.

The treaty has yet to be ratified by either side, but past practice suggests China will do so within days of Zhang’s report.

Li Wei, a counterterrorism expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing, said: “Counterterrorism will be an important part of the treaty, as both countries have faced threats from terrorism for a long time.”

But it was unlikely the agreement would include clauses that singled out any specific organisation or group of people, he said.

Beijing has faced widespread criticism of its policies in Xinjiangwhere it has used mass internment camps to contain Uygurs it accuses of being a terrorist threat.

Such was the opposition in Europe that some leaders said the European Union should not sign an investment deal with China until Beijing compromised on issues related to its use of forced labour in Xinjiang.

But China has doubled down in its defence of such policies. On Tuesday, Luo Zhaohui, vice-minister for foreign affairs, lashed out at the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which Beijing has repeatedly blamed for violent attacks in Xinjiang and elsewhere.

Both China and the UN Security Council regard the ETIM as a terrorist group, though Donald Trump’s outgoing administration in the United States delisted it as such in November.

Luo told a seminar attended by officials and security experts from about a dozen countries that the ETIM was a “core concern” in China’s counterterrorism efforts.

A senior official from Xinjiang’s regional government last week hailed Beijing’s success in stamping out violence in the far western region, saying there had been no terrorist attacks in the past four years.

Luo told a seminar attended by officials and security experts from about a dozen countries that the ETIM was a “core concern” in China’s counterterrorism efforts.

A senior official from Xinjiang’s regional government last week hailed Beijing’s success in stamping out violence in the far western region, saying there had been no terrorist attacks in the past four years.

Selcuk Colakoglu, director of the Turkish Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies in Ankara, said Turkey’s coalition government was likely to face “a huge reaction” from both opposition parties and its own supporters if it went ahead with ratifying the extradition bill in parliament.

“During the recent Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Turkish people delivered a huge show of support for Azerbaijan for the sake of Turkic solidarity, and the AKP-MHP government also enjoyed this public support for its backing of Baku,” he said.

“The government could face huge pressure from the Turkish public with the accusation of ‘sacrificing the fellow Uygurs’, if it tries to approve the bill in the parliament.”

Reports that Ankara deported exiled Uygurs, some via Tajikistan, to China both this year and last caused an uproar among the Turkish public, Colakoglu said.

But ratifying the extradition treaty might be regarded by Beijing as a precondition for further Chinese investment in Turkey, which Ankara desperately needed to revitalise its struggling economy, he said.

China set to ratify extradition treaty with Turkey, Chinese legislator says

Deal signed in 2017 but yet to receive parliamentary approval is seen by Beijing as central to its counterterrorism efforts, expert says.

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[xizhimen]

China-Turkey extradition bill likely to focus on counter-terrorism cooperation, experts say​

By Zhang Han Source: Global Times Published: 2020/12/24 21:08:39

China is eyeing an extradition treaty with Turkey which experts believe will promote bilateral judicial cooperation and facilitate cracking down on transnational crimes, including terrorism.

Zhang Yesui, chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, reported the progress of the treaty at a Wednesday top legislature meeting.

The treaty signals progress in bilateral judicial cooperation, Li Wei, a counterterrorism expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.

China has 169 extradition treaties and judicial assistance bills with 81 countries and regions, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The countries involved will discuss and reach an agreement on what situations the extradition treaty applies to, experts said, noting the China-Turkey extradition treaty is likely to focus on counter-terrorism, given the geopolitical situation of Turkey.

Li said an extradition mechanism is important in cracking down on transnational crimes, such as drug trafficking, money laundering and terrorism. Terrorists will be deterred as they can no longer commit crimes in one country and flee to another, Li said.

The China-Turkey treaty will not only help safeguard peace and stability in Chinese territories, but also facilitate counter-terrorism actions in the region extending from China's northwestern border, Li said.

China and Turkey already have a judicial assistance agreement. China has signed similar extradition treaties with regional countries including Pakistan and Afghanistan, but the latter have not taken effect yet.

Some Western media attacked China's extradition treaty with Turkey and other regional countries as a move to coerce those countries into deporting Uygurs who fled China, which is sheer slander of normal international legal cooperation, experts said.

"The West is trying to leave audience the impression that China is targeting Uygurs in particular when the treaty is actually aimed at criminals regardless of their ethnicity," Li said. An extradition request will be raised when there is a crime, and the case will be handled in accordance with international law and related bills. All men are equal before the law, the expert said.

Observers also emphasized that China and Turkey have a wide range of areas on which to cooperate, and bilateral relations will not be poisoned by Western instigations.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on December 14, during which Wang said that both sides should oppose the politicization and double standard of counterterrorism issues. Cavusoglu said Turkey will not allow anyone to undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry website.

China-Turkey extradition bill likely to focus on counter-terrorism cooperation, experts say - Global Times

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