The Uyghur Human Rights Project has strongly condemned remarks by Canadian MP Michael Ma, who during a parliamentary hearing questioned evidence of forced labor in China by stating he only believes what he sees personally. The organization cited numerous credible investigations, including studies by Adrian Zenz and a major 2025 media collaboration, documenting state-led forced labor programs targeting Uyghurs across multiple global industries. UHRP Executive Director Omer Kanat called the remarks a shameful dismissal of overwhelming evidence from experts, journalists, and victims. The group calls for Ma to retract his comments and for Canada to prevent goods made with forced labor from entering its markets.

Uyghur Human Rights Project condemns Canadian MP Michael Ma for questioning evidence of forced labor in China, citing extensive documentation.

The Uyghur Human Rights Project has expressed deep concern over recent remarks made by Canadian Member of Parliament Michael Ma, which, according to the organisation, appear to dismiss well-documented evidence of forced labour in China, including that involving Uyghurs.

As cited in a UHRP press release, the comments were made during a parliamentary hearing on March 26, 2026, where Ma repeatedly questioned Margaret McCuaig-Johnston of the China Strategic Risks Institute regarding whether she had personally witnessed forced labour in China. In response to her reference to research conducted by Human Rights Watch, Ma reportedly stated, "I don't believe reports, I only believe in things that I can see with my own eyes."

According to the UHRP, this remark reflects either a "willful disregard" for extensively documented evidence or a concerning alignment with efforts by Chinese authorities to deny and obscure ongoing human rights abuses. The press release notes that China has consistently restricted international investigations and concealed evidence of alleged atrocities from outside observers.

The UHRP press release highlights that Uyghur forced labour has been widely documented through multiple credible reports and investigations. These include a 2024 study by Adrian Zenz and I-Lin Lin, which examined forced labour in agricultural production, and a 2025 joint investigation by The New York Times, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and Der Spiegel that reported an expansion of state-led labour transfer programmes targeting Uyghurs.

Further, research led by Laura Murphy pointed to the involvement of industries such as solar energy, cotton, and automobile manufacturing in the use of forced labour. The Coalition to End Uyghur Forced Labour has also stated that more than 17 global industries, from agriculture to toys, are linked to state-sponsored Uyghur forced labour.

The press release also notes that as recently as January 2026, United Nations experts raised concerns regarding ongoing forced labour affecting Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other minority groups in China.

UHRP further underscored that Canada is among a group of countries that have formally recognised the Chinese government's treatment of Uyghurs as genocide, making any remarks perceived as downplaying these abuses particularly significant.

Although Ma later issued an apology, clarifying that his comments were specifically referring to Shenzhen rather than the Uyghur region, the UHRP press release states that he declined to directly respond to follow-up questions from CBC News on whether he believes forced labour exists in China.