In Malaysia, China’s PR blitz on Uygurs in Xinjiang sparks anger
- In op-eds carried by several media outlets, China’s ambassador Bai Tian denounced ‘Western’ reports of abuses in Xinjiang
- But the commentaries in English, Chinese and Malay have backfired, causing outrage online and among the country’s leading Muslim intellectuals
Rights groups including the United Nations say more than a million Muslims are being held against their will in a bid to erase their culture.
Bai, however, in his commentary said Beijing did protect the rights of religious minorities, citing Xinjiang’s many halal restaurants and the fact that there was one mosque for every 530 people in the province – a higher ratio than in Turkey.
“What minorities in China like Uygurs are facing is not torture, but policies and social welfare far more favourable than what their Han brethren are enjoying,” he said.
But the ambassador’s public relations blitz in the media – coupled with videos on the embassy’s official Facebook page highlighting “thousands of terrorist attacks” in Xinjiang – did little to reshape public opinion in Malaysia over China’s internment of its Muslim minorities. Instead, the commentaries sparked anger online and among the country’s leading Muslim intellectuals.