cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/12410238

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Chengdu, which is the capital of Sichuan province, and Sheffield have been twinned since 2010.

But Clara Cheung, a former Hong Konger who moved to Sheffield in 2021, told a council meeting that she and others believed such a relationship told Chinese students that the city was "aligning or endorsing the authoritarian regime in China".

Fran Belbin, leader of the council, said: "Maintaining a relationship with a city does not imply formal endorsement of the policies or actions of that city's national government."

Cheung, who left Hong Kong after the national security law was introduced, told the Sheffield Council meeting last week that cities sharing such a twinning relationship should also share "common values, about human rights, about religious freedom".

She also highlighted the treatment of Uyghur Muslims and Tibetans, the arrest of young women for publishing gay erotica and Chinese state pressure on Sheffield Hallam University's research into Uyghur forced labour.

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