By Li Zhigang
On August 31, the UN Human Rights Office released the so-called “Assessment of human Rights Concerns in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region” report. This report was drafted by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) without the consent of the Chinese government or authorization of the UN Human Rights Council. It seriously violates the OHCHR's duty to promote dialogue and cooperation in the field of human rights, runs counter to the principles of universality, objectivity, non-selectivity and non-politicization, and thus is completely illegal and invalid.
Based on the presumption of guilt, the report uses the so-called “witness testimonies” of overseas anti-China separatists as its main source of information, and purposefully misinterprets relevant laws, regulations, policies and practices adopted in Xinjiang. The report turns a blind eye to the untold suffering that terrorism and extremism have inflicted on the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, and plays down the absolute necessity and importance to fight terrorism and extremism for that reason. The 1.4 billion Chinese people, especially the 25 million Xinjiang residents of all ethnic groups take great offence by the report’s failure to recognize the remarkable progress of the human rights cause achieved in the region.
Terrorist and extremist activities in Xinjiang pose a serious and direct threat to the basic human rights of people of all ethnic groups. Initial statistics show that from 1990 to 2016, terrorist and extremist forces plotted and committed thousands of violent terrorist crimes. They killed many innocent civilians and several hundred police officers and caused immeasurable property losses.
Any responsible government in the world would invariably oppose all forms of terrorism and extremism, and would crack down on any acts of promoting, organizing, plotting and carrying out terrorist activities which violate human rights.
The Chinese government has taken anti-terrorism and de-radicalization measures that address both the symptoms and root causes. Drawing on the counter-terrorism experiences of the international community, China actively responds to the UN General Assembly resolution on the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (A/RES/60/288) , and is committed to addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism and taking measures to prevent and combat terrorism.
In light of the realities in the region, Xinjiang has intensified its counter-terrorism and deradicalization effort by cracking down on violent and terrorist crimes in accordance with the law on the one hand, and addressing the root causes on the other. Measures have been put into place to improve people's livelihoods, raise legal literacy, and set up vocational skills education and training centers in accordance with the law to protect citizens’ basic human rights from terrorism and extremism to the greatest extent possible.
The counter-terrorism and deradicalization effort in Xinjiang has created a secure environment for local residents of all ethnic groups to pursue a better life. In recent years, Xinjiang has witnessed sustained economic development, social stability, continuous improvement of people's livelihood, unprecedented cultural prosperity and religious harmony. People from all walks of life in Xinjiang, including religious leaders, migrant workers and graduates from vocational skills education and training centers, have voluntarily written letters to the OHCHR to offer firsthand accounts of the real situation in Xinjiang. Visitors from outside China who have been to Xinjiang depicted a completely different picture from what Western media reports and anti-China forces try to portray.
Xinjiang's counter-terrorism and deradicalization effort contributes to the global counter-terrorism campaign and the cause of human rights protection. Violent and terrorist activities show no respect to basic human rights, trample on humanity and justice, and challenge the bottom line of all human civilizations. Xinjiang’s counter- terrorism and deradicalization endeavour is not only a justified cause undertaken by the Chinese government to protect the human rights of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang from terrorism and extremism, it is also an important part of the international community’s unremitting effort to combat terrorism and extremism, and thus making an important contribution to the maintenance of world peace and stability and the protection of the international human rights cause.
Many developing countries have fallen victim to the interference by US and the West into their internal affairs under the pretext of human rights. More than 60 countries that uphold justice have sent a joint letter to the OHCHR to oppose the publication of this false report. Nearly 1,000 non-governmental organizations and people from all walks of life in Xinjiang have expressed their unequivocal opposition in their letters to the OHCHR.
In recent years, nearly 100 countries, including Muslim countries, have publicly voiced their support for China’s legitimate position on Xinjiang-related issues at the UN Human Rights Council and the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly. They have also spoken against interference in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of so-called Xinjiang-related issues.
What constitutes the blatant interference in other countries’ internal affairs by the US and western forces is an act of not noticing the log in their own eyes.
The OHCHR should not turn away from the atrocities committed by the US and Western forces over the centuries, including the genocide and cultural extermination against Native Americans and other indigenous people, the concentration camp during the Boer War, the trafficking of labour from outside the country for modern slavery and forced labour, the systematic racial discrimination against ethnic minorities, the massive civilian casualties caused by gun violence, the historical and serious regression of women’s rights, torture and abuse at the extralegal detention centers overseas, the unilateral sanctions that seriously violate the rights of other countries, and military operations overseas that indiscriminately kill innocent civilians.
China will continue to unswervingly follow the path of human rights development with Chinese characteristics, and continue to contribute to the promotion of the cause of human rights in China and the world. It is hoped that the international community, including South Africa, will take an objective and fair view of the great achievements made in the cause of human rights in Xinjiang, uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, oppose the politicization and weaponization of human rights issues, denounce double standards on human rights issues, and reject interference in China's internal affairs under the pretext of Xinjiang-related issues.
Li Zhigang is Chargé d’ Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in South Africa