


Republican presidential candidate Francis Suarez struggled to articulate his foreign policy plans during a radio interview on Tuesday morning, at one point seeming unaware of the human rights abuses occurring in China.
During an interview with Hugh Hewitt, the radio host asked Suarez whether he would make the Uyghur genocide a part of his campaign platform or if the Republican candidate would take a firm stance on the issue. However, Suarez’s response prompted more questions than answers.
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“What — the what?” Saurez responded. “What’s a Uyghur?”
Hewitt pivoted away from the topic, but not before telling Suarez he has to “get smart on that.”
The comment comes as the U.S. government, as well as several other countries, have denounced China’s oppression of its Uyghur population. Roughly 800,000 to 2 million Uyghurs have been detained by the country’s government since 2017, where the ethnic group is often subject to forced sterilization and sexual assault, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
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The United States came out firmly against the Chinese government’s treatment of the Uyghur population, amounting it to genocide and a severe violation of human rights. President Joe Biden later signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, banning imports from the Xinjiang region as punishment.
Suarez announced his candidacy for president earlier this month, entering an already-crowded field of candidates seeking the GOP nomination. Suarez currently serves as the mayor of Miami, making him the third candidate from Florida to enter the GOP field alongside former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.