Q: On June 9, the European Parliament passed a resolution on “the human rights situation in Xinjiang”, criticizing the human rights situation in Xinjiang and alleging that China’s relevant measures amount to crimes against humanity and represent a serious risk of genocide. What is your comment?

A: The relevant resolution of the European Parliament is in total disregard of facts with fabrication and confounding black and white. It maliciously attacks the human rights situation in China’ Xinjiang and the Chinese government’s governance of the region, grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs and seriously violates international law and basic norms governing international relations. We strong deplore and firmly oppose it.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese government has followed a people-centered approach to human rights protection, enriched its governance strategy and vigorously developed various undertakings in Xinjiang. The cause of human rights in Xinjiang is booming, and various rights of people of all ethnic groups, such as civil, political, economic, social, cultural and religious freedom, have been effectively guaranteed. From 1955 to 2020, the region’s GDP has expanded by 160 times, its per capita regional GDP up by 30 times, bringing about a historic solution to absolute poverty. Life expectancy in Xinjiang has increased from 30 years in 1949 to 74.7 years in 2019. There is one mosque for every 530 Muslims in Xinjiang, a ratio that is higher than that in many Western countries and Islamic countries. At present, Xinjiang has entered its best period in history with social harmony and stability, and happy, peaceful life for its people. These are all undeniable facts.

Xinjiang-related issues are in fact about fighting terrorism, extremism and separatism, not about human rights or religion. For a long time, separatists, religious extremists and terrorists carried out thousands of violent terrorist attacks in Xinjiang, causing heavy innocent casualties. In response to these atrocities, China has adopted counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures in accordance with the law, guaranteeing people’s basic human rights, such as the right to subsistence and development, to the greatest possible extent. There have been no violent terrorist attack in Xinjiang for over five consecutive years. All foreigners who have visited Xinjiang and adopted an impartial and objective attitude believe that Xinjiang’s experience in counter-terrorism and deradicalization is worth learning from.

The so-called allegation of "genocide" is a flat-out lie of the century, which was an ugly farce directed by anti-China forces. From the first national census in 1953 to the seventh one in 2020, Xinjiang’s population increased from 4.78 million to 25.85 million, among which Uyghur population went up from 3.6 million to 11.62 million. The growth rate of Uyghur population is not only higher than that of the total population in Xinjiang, but also that of other ethnic minorities, even much higher than that of Han people. Has anyone ever seen “genocide” of this kind?

No lie or fallacy can deny the fact that Xinjiang has made historic progress in human rights development and no disinformation can hinder Xinjiang’s development and prosperity. We urge the European Parliament to respect facts, not to go further down the wrong path, immediately stop smearing and attacking the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese government’s governance of the region, and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs. The Chinese government remains firm in defending its sovereignty, security and development interests.