Trying to discredit counterterrorism effort called ‘in vain’

Those who are trying to land false accusations out of “ulterior motives” about China’s counterterrorism efforts in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will fail, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, meeting in Geneva on Friday and Monday, reviewed China’s report on the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

During the review, the Chinese delegation elaborated on the progress China has made in protecting the rights of ethnic groups, and the committee commended the Chinese government’s efforts to implement the convention as well as its achievement in this regard, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in an online statement.

“Some anti-China forces made false accusations about China for political purposes. A small number of foreign media made distorted reports about the review and slandered China’s measures to fight against terrorism and crimes in Xinjiang. These are done with ulterior motives,” Lu said.

“Currently, the overall situation in Xinjiang is stable. The momentum of economic growth in Xinjiang is good, and all ethnic groups are living in harmony there,” the spokesman said. “People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang treasure the peace they are enjoying. Any slander and defamation will end up in vain.”

Lu’s comments followed those made on Monday by Hu Lianhe, a member of the Chinese delegation.

“The statement that ‘a million Uygurs are detained in re-education centers’ is completely untrue,” Hu said, responding to allegations cited in foreign media reports.

Since the 1990s, the “three forces” of terrorism, separatism and extremism at home and abroad have planned and organized a series of violent terrorist incidents such as explosions, assassinations, poisonings, arson, assaults, turmoil and riots, causing heavy loss of life and property among all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, Hu said.

In response, the autonomous region has adopted measures to strengthen social and security management, including collecting relevant information, curbing the spread of terrorist and extremist audios and videos and cracking down on the illegal and criminal activities of the “three forces”, Hu said.

The measures have safeguarded stability and security in Xinjiang and received great support from all ethnic groups, he added. Xinhua contributed to this story.