A CNN correspondent shared an image of his television as candidates began to discuss the detention of the Uighur people

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

A live stream of Thursday night’s debate went dark in Beijing as candidates tackled questions on China’s human rights violations and the detention of Uighur people, a journalist in China reported.

A CNN international correspondent posted a photo to Twitter of his TV screen, which was tuned to CNN’s live feed of the debate when it went black.

Will Ripley (@willripleyCNN) CNN live feed of Democratic presidential debate goes to black in Beijing. Candidates were asked about China’s human rights record & the mass detention of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. #PresidentialDebate pic.twitter.com/DSQ9QRu5zA

Chinese officials have previously referred to reports that the country is holding more than a million people from the country’s Muslim minority population in detention camps as “fake news”. The Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, insisted last month that the camps are “education and training centers”.

Play Video 1:31 China cables: 'Don't listen to fake news' about Xinjiang camps, says Chinese ambassador – video

Candidates were asked during the debate how they would handle the rising superpower and its relationship with the US.

Pete Buttigieg and other Democrats seeking the party’s presidential nomination are advocating a mix of policies in response to China’s mass detention camps for Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities.



Buttigieg said, “any tool should be on the table” in dealing with China.

Billionaire Tom Steyer stressed the need for a relationship with China, which he referred to as a “frenemy”, to combat the global challenge of climate change.

Asked specifically about Chinese military buildup, the former vice-president Joe Biden said China would take 17 years to match the might of the US military, and added that the US should not abide by any human rights abuses on the part of China.

The Chinese government has long struggled with its 11 million-strong Uighur population, an ethnic Turkic minority native to Xinjiang province, and in recent years has detained 1 million or more Uighurs and other minorities in the camps.