Beijing rips London for ‘trick’ at UN on Xinjiang

Beijing expressed firm opposition on Wednesday to British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab’s accusations against China at the United Nations, saying that the international community will not be deceived by the United Kingdom’s “little trick”.

Speaking at a regular news briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the UK abused the platform of the UN Human Rights Council to spread false information, to attack China and to interfere in the country’s domestic affairs.

“We firmly reject it,” Wang said, adding that China is strongly opposed to any political manipulation of issues related to the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region by anyone to exert pressure on China.

The remarks came after Raab called on Monday for the UN to be given “urgent and unfettered” access to Xinjiang to investigate reports of abuses in the region.

Wang said the UK is clearly driven by the ulterior motives of confusing public opinion, smearing China and sabotaging cooperation with the UN Human Rights Council.

“The door to Xinjiang is always open and we welcome the UN high commissioner for human rights to visit,” he said, adding that the invitation was extended a long time ago and the two sides have been in communication.

Wang stressed that the purpose of the visit would be to promote bilateral exchanges and cooperation instead of conducting a so-called investigation based on a presumption of guilt.

He said the UK has been playing politics and has double standards on human rights issues.

While it is eager to lecture to exert pressure on other countries, it turns a blind eye to its own serious human rights violations, such as the killing of innocents by British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.

“We urge the British side to improve its own situation and truly contribute to international human rights,” Wang said.

In another development, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress voiced on Wednesday strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to a Xinjiang-related motion passed by Canada’s House of Commons.

The motion is a gross interference in China’s domestic affairs and a malicious provocation against the Chinese people, said You Wenze, a spokesman for the committee.

“We urge Canadian politicians to … immediately stop their wrongdoing to avoid further poisoning the atmosphere of China-Canada relations and refrain from causing new damage to bilateral ties,” You said.