China fires back at ‘shameless’ US over Xinjiang human rights abuse claims

Region’s government marks shift from defence to offence, calling out Washington’s ‘smear’ campaign despite its own failings on rights and race
Xinjiang-related issues highlight US anxiety over China, which has reached a ‘perverse, unreasonable and shameless stage’, spokesman says

Xinjiang

Sarah Zhengin Beijing

Published: 7:30pm, 12 Aug 2021

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China promised to expose the US’ “ugly intentions” over claims of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, accusing the US of hypocrisy as it went on the offensive in its public relations campaign against Washington on Thursday.

Xinjiang’s government shifted from a focus on arguing against allegations of forced labour and mass detention of Uygurs and other ethnic minorities in the region, to instead emphasise the US’ own human rights issues such as racial discrimination and mass surveillance.

Xu Guixiang, spokesman for the regional government, said the US had sought to “smear” Xinjiang counterterrorism efforts as policies of genocide and religious suppression, and had “used the excuse of human rights” to slap sanctions on officials and entities from the region.

01:50

China claims improved living standards and ethnic equality in Xinjiang while ignoring allegations

“The US’ anxiety over China has been vividly shown on Xinjiang-related issues, and has reached a point where it is [at a] perverse, unreasonable and shameless stage,” Xu told a virtual press conference.

Washington had not owned up to its own human rights record, he argued, citing reports from US media and even playing footage from the award-winning Hollywood film 12 Years a Slave and the US documentary-drama miniseries, America: The Story of Us.

What is going on in Xinjiang and who are the Uygur people?

“The US has been preaching its so-called universal values and labelling itself as a defender of human rights, a beacon of freedom and a model of human rights, always taking a condescending position to shine a flashlight on other people but never reflecting on itself,” Xu said.

“Although one cannot wake up a person who pretends to be sleeping, we can still expose their ugly intentions and behaviours. Today’s Xinjiang presser will remove the US’ veil and show the whole world its bloody history.”

Xinjiang’s EU trade is booming, despite political forced labour concerns

The remarks were the latest in Beijing’s efforts to push back on accusations of repression against members of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang that Western countries, and the US in particular, have said amount to “genocide”.

This came as China’s State Council issued a white paper on the country’s human rights record, hailing achievements in reaching “all-around moderate prosperity”. The 35-page document highlighted the nation’s poverty alleviation efforts, including lifting millions above the poverty line, as well as “putting life first” in combating the Covid-19 pandemic, a new data privacy law, and “furthering protection of the rights of ethnic minorities”.

“China’s realisation of moderate prosperity serves as a solid foundation for human rights,” the white paper issued on Thursday said.

There has been growing pressure on China over treatment of Uygurs and members of other ethnic minority groups, including through coordinated sanctions from the European Union, US, Britain and Canada against Xinjiang in March, and calls from activists for a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February.

02:27

US declares China has committed genocide in its treatment of Uygurs in Xinjiang

Xinjiang officials have held multiple media briefings to share the “truth” about the autonomous region and to counter claims of forced labour, including showing videos of Uygurs in the region speaking favourably about their employment at local companies.

Rights groups say that up to 1 million Uygurs have been detained in mass detention centres in Xinjiang that China has defended as vocational training centres intended to curb terrorism and extremism.

02:38

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Beijing’s heavy-handed tactics to defend its narrative on Xinjiang mirror its recent moves to demand an independent investigation into the United States as a source of Covid-19, in response to US intelligence agencies’ ongoing efforts to examine if the virus originated from an animal source or a laboratory accident in China.

On Monday, China’s foreign ministry actively promoted a report from three Chinese think tanks that billed itself as revealing “the truth” about the US’ pandemic response, drawing mostly from material reported in US media.

In July, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken invited UN human rights experts to America to help advise and report on racism there.

“Great nations such as ours do not hide from our shortcomings; they acknowledge them openly and strive to improve with transparency,” Blinken said in a statement on July 13. “Responsible nations must not shrink from scrutiny of their human rights record; rather, they should acknowledge it with the intent to improve.”