CHINA RELEASES UIGHUR POET’S ‘VIDEO’ TO PROVE HE IS NOT DEAD
BEIJING/ANKARA: Beijing on Monday condemned Turkey over its claim that a celebrated musician from China’s Turkic Muslim Uighur ethnic group has died in custody, releasing a brief video clip that it said proved he was alive and in good health.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the video of Abdurehim Heyit issued by state media showed Turkey’s statement was an “absurd lie.”
“The Turkish side has made a very bad mistake which is quite irresponsible. We express firm opposition to this,” Hua told reporters at a daily briefing. China has filed a formal complaint and called on Turkey to reveal the source of its information, Hua said.
Heyit had reportedly been sentenced to eight years over one of his songs. Hua said he had been taken in custody for endangering national security and his case was under investigation.
The dustup over Turkey’s criticism contrasts with the close economic relationship between the two countries. Turkey depends on Chinese financing for major infrastructure projects, while China sees Turkey as an important link in its gargantuan Belt and Road project to expand its economic reach abroad.
Turkey’s claim of Heyit’s death came in a foreign ministry statement on Saturday calling China’s treatment of Uighurs “a great cause of shame for humanity” — a rare show of public criticism by a majority Muslim nation. China has interned an estimated 1 million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in re-education camps, where they are forced to renounce Islam and swear fealty to ruling Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said it was “no longer a secret” that China has arbitrarily detained more than a million Uighurs in “concentration camps.” He said the Turkic Muslim population faced “systematic assimilation” in China.