Recent imposition of national security law in Hong Kong and reports of Uyghurs Muslims being subjected to forced sterilisation in "re-education camps" in Xinjiang has revealed to the world that "XI is an unfettered emperor in the tradition of Mao," said Andrew Adonis, a Labor member of the House of Lords and former Transport Secretary.
"I see China's ruler Xi Jinping in a wholly new light since interviewing former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd a few weeks ago. From his vast experience of Chinese politics and statecraft, Rudd describes Xi as a radical change of type, not degree," Adonis said in an article published in Independent on July 2.
He further said, "The question can no longer be ducked: is Xi Jinping's persecution of China's ethnic minorities a genocide in the making?"
Adonis said that Hong Kong could very well be the new West Berlin and "we in Britain cannot escape responsibility to take the lead in offering asylum and refuge if, as looks possible and even imminent, repression of Hong Kong's democrats takes place."
"Like West Berlin, Hong Kong may be salvageable and defensible because of its innate strengths and its position in the eye of the world. But only if the west leads with the strength of Ernie Bevin and George Marshall in the face of Stalin's attempt to snuff out West Berlin in 1948/9," he added.
According to the US State Department's data, more than a million Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minority groups have been detained in camps in Xinjiang.
In these camps they are "subjected to torture, cruel and inhumane treatment such as physical and sexual abuse, forced labor, and death," the CNN reported.
Adonis cited German anthropologist Adrian Zenz's research wherein it was stated that the sudden decline in the birth rate among the ethnic minority communities in Xinjiang might be an indication of the fact that the targeted birth prevention strategy is being conducted.
The research also said that the destruction of cemeteries, reports of mass incarceration, indoctrination, extrajudicial detention, invasive surveillance, forced labour and other crimes "could point towards the crime of genocide".
While urging the West to concentrate on Xi Jinping, Adonis said, "It is time for the west to shine its light on the new Mao and stop pretending we can continue as before."
( With inputs from ANI )