China slams UN comments on Xinjiang as ‘irresponsible’

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday called UN experts’ latest comments on Xinjiang “irresponsible” and “without any factual basis.”

Policies on Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are for stability, development, ethnic unity, livelihood and cracking down on terrorism and national separatism. They are also aimed at maintaining national security and protecting lives and property, said Hua Chunying, spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“As for precautions on fighting terrorism, they are international approaches adopted by many countries,” Hua told a regular media briefing Friday.

Hua’s remarks came after UN’s human rights experts voiced alarm on Thursday over alleged Chinese “re-education camps” for Uyghurs. They also called for the immediate release of those detained on the “pretext of countering terrorism,” Reuters reported Thursday.

Hua said that Xinjiang residents’ satisfaction over security and social stability has improved greatly.

“It’s not that some people from Western countries did not know the truth about Xinjiang or have misunderstood the region. They are trying to deliberately split China in the long run,” Zhu Weiqun, former chairman of the ethnic and religious affairs committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, told the Global Times on Friday.

Some Western countries would exaggerate or play their “human rights” card whenever something happens in China, Zhu said.

China’s policies in Xinjiang have achieved great progress, especially in cracking down on terrorism, Zhu said.

“The achievements were extraordinary and hard-earned. And we should stick to those policies regardless of irresponsible remarks from Western people,” Zhu said.

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) reviewed the situation in China at its 96th session on August 10 and 13, and the Chinese delegation discussed China’s progress in protecting ethnic minorities’ rights.

Hu Lianhe, a member of the Chinese delegation, said that there is no such thing as “reeducation camps” in Xinjiang, the Xinhua News Agency reported on August 14.

The review reached a positive conclusion on China’s policies and regulations on protecting ethnic minorities, Hua said Friday.