GOP candidate Suarez asks interviewer 'what's a Uyghur?'

Republican presidential candidate Francis Suarez was caught unaware Tuesday morning by a radio interviewer's question about alleged human rights abuses in China.

When the Miami mayor was asked if his campaign would mention the Chinese minority, Suarez responded by asking, “What’s a Uyghur?”

The Chinese government has faced significant international criticism in recent years over its treatment of Uyghurs, a Muslim minority in the western province of Xinjiang. Beijing, which broadly denies any human rights wrongdoing, is accused of detaining Uyghurs in reeducation camps, where prisoners allege they have been subjected to torture and rape. The U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and European Union have all leveled sanctions against Chinese officials over Beijing's treatment of Uyghurs and Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused China of committing "genocide and crimes against humanity."

The foreign policy gaffe was especially striking given the increasingly outsize role China plays in U.S. foreign policy calculations. Relations between Washington and Beijing have worsened in recent years not just over China's treatment of Uyghurs but also tensions surrounding trade policy, Taiwan and Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea, amid other issues.

Suarez, 45, joined the crowded GOP field last month, becoming the first Hispanic candidate to enter the race. He's faced criticism from some Republicans for his admission that he did not vote for former President Donald Trump in 2016 or 2020.