China on US Sanctions Related to Xinjiang: "Interference in Internal Affairs... Severely Damaging US-China Relations" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] The Chinese government has rebutted the United States' claim of 'genocide' against the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, which was cited as the reason for the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, calling it a "malicious label on legitimate counter-terrorism measures." China also expressed refusal to allow a UN on-site investigation.

Xu Guixiang, Deputy Head of the Propaganda Department of the Xinjiang Party Committee, stated at an online press conference on Xinjiang human rights held in Beijing on the 13th, "Western anti-China forces have viciously labeled the lawful crackdown on terrorism and extremism in Xinjiang, which guarantees the basic human rights such as the right to survival and development of various ethnic groups, as genocide."

He said, "According to provisional statistics, from 1990 to the end of 2016, violent and terrorist forces, ethnic separatists, and religious extremists carried out thousands of violent and terrorist incidents in Xinjiang and other areas, causing many innocent civilians to die and hundreds of police officers to be killed in the line of duty." He added, "Strictly cracking down on terrorism according to the law to prevent the public from suffering terrorist attacks is an inevitable choice to safeguard social stability in Xinjiang and protect human rights."

Earlier, the British private research organization 'Uyghur Tribunal' published a 63-page report summarizing the results of investigations involving people from Xinjiang. While stating there is no evidence of mass killing in Xinjiang, the report claimed that the Chinese Communist Party implemented forced sterilizations, contraception, and abortions to reduce the birth rate of Uyghurs, and that such acts also constitute genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention.

Meanwhile, regarding the US Treasury Department's sanctions on certain organizations and officials related to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Iliang Anaiti, spokesperson for the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, said, "So far, Xinjiang, China has not feared any sanctions," adding, "All sanctions will be futile." When asked whether there had been any discussions about independent UN visits to Xinjiang in relation to the UN's upcoming Xinjiang human rights report, he stated a refusal, saying, "We absolutely cannot accept so-called human rights investigation reports."

Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing that the US government's sanctions on Chinese companies and Xinjiang officials constitute "serious interference in China's internal affairs and a gross violation of the basic norms of international relations, causing serious damage to China-US relations," and declared, "China firmly opposes this." He added, "We solemnly urge the United States to withdraw its wrong policy decisions, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, and cease words and actions that infringe upon China's interests," and warned, "If the United States insists on reckless actions, China will definitely take resolute countermeasures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.