China slams US ‘lies’ about treatment of Uygurs in Xinjiang region
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s pledge to raise issue with UN General Assembly draws sharp reaction from Beijing
China has hit back at US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s pledge to take its treatment of ethnic Uygurs to the United Nations, saying US “lies” about the western region of Xinjiang would not deceive anyone.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news conference in Beijing on Monday that Pompeo was not the first US official to make irresponsible remarks about Xinjiang.
“We are strongly dissatisfied with, and resolutely opposed to, these US officials’ neglect of the facts, making irresponsible comments about China’s Xinjiang policy and seriously interfering in China’s internal affairs,” Hua said.
UN experts and activists say at least one million Uygurs and members of other largely Muslim minority groups have been detained in camps in the remote Xinjiang region. Beijing denies any mistreatment at the camps which it says provide vocational training to help stamp out religious extremism and teach new work skills.
Asked last week at Kansas State University how Washington had been promoting an end to the oppression of Uygurs, Pompeo said it was insufficient and the US would take up their cause at the UN General Assembly this month.