General   (General discussion, talk about anything.)

Crossbench peer Lord Alton of Liverpool, as quoted in the Catholic Herald, 3rd Nov 2021 - Link:

“Last week the Foreign Secretary was reported as saying that what is happening to the Uyghurs at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party is a genocide.

“This week, Wigan Council has signed a £135 million deal with a Chinese company.

“For questioning the probity of this, a librarian has lost her job and has now been prevented from making a protest. Maureen O’Bern has shown great courage.”

Lord Alton added: “I cannot understand why a local council can be so indifferent to the Uyghur genocide, to the destruction of Hong Kong’s democracy, to daily CCP threats to Taiwan and mass violations of human rights.

“This money-talks deal will bring great discredit to Wigan just as its attempt to suppress free speech has done.”