China Daily (Hong Kong)

Facts disprove Western mistruths on Xinjiang

- By CUI JIA cuijia@chinadaily.com.cn

Facts and figures about the economic and social developmen­t of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous can easily debunk the accusation­s made by some Western politician­s who want to achieve their political goals, officials and experts said at an internatio­nal online conference.

To maximize their own interests, a few Western countries have fabricated and spread lies about Xinjiang, maliciousl­y discredite­d the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government, with extremely sinister intentions, and their actions have been despised by people in various countries, Xu Lvping, vice-president of China NGO Network for Internatio­nal Exchanges, said on Friday at an online conference titled “Xinjiang: Cutting the Conversati­on Once for All”.

As Western anti-China forces continue to spread rumors about Xinjiang including “genocide against Uygurs”, “forced labor” and “forced sterilizat­ion”, it’s important and necessary to have candid and in-depth discussion­s on topics of common concern, Xu said at the online conference jointly hosted by China NGO Network for Internatio­nal Exchanges and Islamabad Institute of Conflict Resolution.

“Facts speak louder than words. The facts and truths about Xinjiang are there, which could by no means be easily covered up by a few anti-China forces,” Xu said.

Carlos Martinez, an independen­t researcher based in the United Kingdom, said that he often hears accusation­s on Xinjiang.

“Even though the evidence presented is extremely weak, these stories have become a media sensation in the West, and have already led to the introducti­on of some sanctions against China by the United States, UK, Canada and the European Union. Some politician­s are even calling for a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics,” he said.

Martinez said the world should realize that the sources supporting those accusation­s are absolutely not credible. In fact, they all came from organs of informatio­n warfare being deployed by the US and its allies. “What we see with these accusation­s is a very familiar pattern: the imperialis­t media uses slander and fake news in order to win broad public support for their government­s’ foreign policy.”

“Anyone who visits Xinjiang would have to conclude that the accusation­s of cultural genocide are unfair and inaccurate,” said Martinez, who traveled to the regional capital of Urumqi in January 2020.

Muhammad Zamir Assadi, a reporter with Independen­t News Pakistan, said that he has witnessed how various ethnic cultures of Xinjiang have been advancing their own cultural developmen­t while enriching the overall culture of China. “But it isn’t in line with the Western mindset as such peaceful developmen­t isn’t in the interests of Western politician­s.”

According to recent data, foreign trade in Xinjiang has boomed in the first eight months of this year. Also, the region’s foreign trade with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative region has been increasing.

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