U.S. bill on Xinjiang refuted by international experts

The so-called “Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019” recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives is totally ridiculous and calling black white, international experts told People’s Daily in recent interviews. They believe the U.S. should introspect about its own human rights problems first.

The act maliciously attacks the human rights conditions in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and slanders China’s de-radicalization and anti-terrorism efforts, making groundless accusations against the Chinese government’s Xinjiang policies and seriously violating the international law and the basic norms of international relations.

Member of the European Parliament Maximilian Krah told People’s Daily that Xinjiang-related issues are no doubt China’s internal affairs, and the U.S. has no right to weigh in. What the U.S. House of Representatives did was a total disrespect for the facts, and it is curbing the development of China by such double standard, Krah said, adding that such practice hurts China-U.S. relations and also the image of the U.S. itself.

Such act is obviously a slander against China, said Jean Pegouret, a geopolitics scholar and president of Saphir Eurasia Promotion, France.

He said that China’s efforts to offer vocational education and training for the people affected by religious extremism in Xinjiang are obvious to all. This act neglects China’s national sovereignty and is indeed offering support for separatists and terrorists.

General Secretary of the Egyptian Communist Party (ECP) Salah Adly noted that the U.S. is in no position to interfere with China’s domestic affairs. What the U.S. politicians want is to contain China’s development by fiercely slandering and smearing China’s policy toward Xinjiang, he said, adding that such malicious political plot will never succeed.

He stressed that Xinjiang-related issues are not about ethnicity, religion, human rights or freedom, let alone politics. Indeed, they are about fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as cracking down on religious extremists.

Natee Taweesrifuengfung, assistant to the president of Thailand’s Panyapiwat Institute of Management pointed out that the U.S. has long applied double standard to human rights issues.

Related laws enacted by Washington after the 9/11 attacks enabled the U.S. to combat terrorism overseas and send its troops to Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The U.S. politicians consider their country’s fight against terrorism righteous, but take China’s vocational education and training for de-extremism as a violation of human rights, Taweesrifuengfung noted.

The U.S. stands up against terrorism, and so should China. It’s ridiculous for the U.S. for not allowing China to combat terrorism in the latter’s own territory, he remarked.

The rights to live and develop are the most important human rights, and are an indispensable part of human rights. Xinjiang is home to many ethnic groups, and every group should respect the right to live of others.

Taweesrifuengfung noted that many of the so-called American scholars who loosen their tongues over Xinjiang’s human rights conditions have not even visited China. “We define terrorism with a same standard, and it is hoped that the U.S. can apply the same standard to itself and other countries,” he said.

“The U.S. should introspect about how it is dealing with its own ethnic minorities,” Pegouret said, adding that the U.S. practices deserve condemnation from the international society.

The “Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019” exposed Washington’s support for the subversion and separation of China and its intention to undermine the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and such act hardly wins any support, Pegouret noted. The U.S. should take care of its own business before pointing its finger at others, he added.

Serik Korzhumbayev, editor-in-chief of Kazakh newspaper DK News is a frequent visitor to Xinjiang, and his latest visit was in July this year.

“The Chinese government has always attached high importance on Xinjiang’s development, and is sparing no effort to create favorable living conditions for local people,” he said.

A large number of journalists from the world, being invited to many places of Xinjiang, have had an in-depth understanding of local communities’ daily life, and had a real-life experience of the harmonious atmosphere of all ethnic groups in the region, the editor-in-chief introduced.

Facts have proved that the Chinese government has always been committed to improving the production and living conditions of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, making huge efforts to protect and promote the traditional culture of each ethnic minority group.

In particular, Xinjiang has been enjoying amazing development in recent years driven by the BRI. By actively responding to the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and upholding the principle of fighting and preventing terrorism at the same time, the Chinese government has achieved favorable results in Xinjiang.

Ikenna Emewu, a senior journalist and executive director of the Afri-China Media Center based in Nigeria once published an article on Nigerian newspaper This Day, calling on each country to study the counter-terrorism experience of Xinjiang. He believes that China has successfully curbed the threat of terrorism in recent years, becoming a role model for global countries in counter-terrorism.

The world, especially African countries should take a close look at China’s anti-terrorism practices, and the United Nations should also actively promote the successful experience of China in this regard, he said.

Qasim Suri, deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan told People’s Daily that the Pakistani government supports China for its necessary efforts to safeguard the peace and security of Xinjiang and even the entire region, and will not back up the negative reports by the West.

Though some western countries are not willing to accept the rise of China and Asia, the era of Asia is still coming with the success of China, he said, adding that Asian and other developing countries hope to learn from China to boost their own prosperity and the development of their respective regions.