China’s envoy to Australia dismisses mass detention of Uygurs in Xinjiang as ‘fake news’

Cheng Jingye also defends his government against accusations of espionage and political meddling in Australia

He rejects claims Chinese-Australian author Yang Hengjun, detained for past 11 months, was denied a lawyer and interrogated while shackled

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Cheng Jingye addresses media during the press conference at his residence in Canberra on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 4:10pm, 19 Dec 2019Updated: 5:13pm, 19 Dec 2019

China’s ambassador to Australia held a rare press conference on Thursday to defend his government against charges of human rights abuses, espionage and political meddling which have frayed relations between the major trade partners.

At Beijing’s embassy in Canberra, Cheng Jingye rejected reports that China had detained more than a million Uygurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in the far west Xinjiang region as “utterly fake news”.

He also denied recent allegations from serving and former security officials that China had been involved in a vast campaign of espionage and political influence in Australia, saying such charges were “not well-founded”.

Australia is reliant on China for trade, with the country being by far its biggest market for critical resource and commodities exports.

Cheng pushed back on international charges that China had detained more than a million Uygurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in re-education camps in a drive to erase their culture.