China's vice president to attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral despite worry

China announced Saturday that Vice President Wang Qishan would attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II as the special representative of President Xi Jinping.

A group of British legislators sanctioned by China have expressed concern that the Chinese government has been invited to the funeral. One told the BBC the invitation should be rescinded because of human rights abuses in the treatment of the Uyghur ethnic group in China's far-western region of Xinjiang.

Wang, who is close to Xi, was a member of the ruling Communist Party's all-powerful, seven-member Politburo Standing Committee from 2012 to 2017. During those years, he led a crackdown on corruption that has been one of Xi's signature initiatives as China's leader.

Wang was named to the largely ceremonial post of vice president in 2018 and often attends events on Xi's behalf.