中文
1.Beijing Youth Daily: I noticed an article published by Singapore-based Lianhe Zaobao about Xinjiang cotton, which points out that the allegation of "forced labor" in Xinjiang is groundless. Do you have any comment?
Zhao Lijian: I've also taken note of the report. The author is an education consultant with more than a decade-long experience working and living in Xinjiang. He said that the groundless allegation of "forced labor" in Xinjiang is not only absurd, but also exposes the ignorance of those behind it. During the cotton-picking season, workers seeking employment from other provinces and cities in China would travel to Xinjiang to meet the shortfall of laborers and help the cotton-growers bring in the harvest. In return, the workers get generous remunerations. As you can see, this is a win-win. Besides, with the development and wide application of agricultural machinery, manual labor is being replaced more and more. By alleging "forced cotton-picking by ethnic minorities", certain people are defiling the speckless cotton in Xinjiang and maligning socioeconomic progress in the region.
For some time, we've seen more and more objective and just voices in the world on Xinjiang. For example, the US website Project Syndicate pointed out in an article titled "The Xinjiang Genocide Allegations Are Unjustified" that the US falsely accused China of "genocide" in Xinjiang without any evidence. First, the claim lacks credibility. It was put forward by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo notoriously known for his "lying diplomacy", thus not credible at all. Second, it lacks facts. The US government has yet to produce any factual basis. Third, it lacks jurisprudence basis. The United States has incorporated the definition by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide into its domestic legislation without any significant alteration. The definition specifies that one of five acts must be perpetrated, including killing and "imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group". But the US doesn't have any evidence to prove the existence of any such acts in Xinjiang.
The list goes on. For example, a recently-released feature report, "The Xinjiang Genocide Determination As Agenda", by Thore Vestby, former mayor of Frogn municipality in Norway, laid bare the lack of objectivity, verity and integrity of a report alleging genocide in Xinjiang by US think tanks. Another example, French author Maxime Vivas in his book "Uyghurs: To Put an End to Fake News" proved that all sorts of lies and rumors on Xinjiang are baseless with his own two trips there. US independent website The Grayzone exposed how anti-China Adrian Zenz abused data, distorted documents and cited false testimonies to fabricate the lie of the century -- "genocide" in Xinjiang. The Australian Alert Service, a weekly publication of the Australian Citizens Party, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, Brazil's Estado de Minas and many other media ran reports and articles to show the effective counter-terrorism work in Xinjiang and expose the double standard on fighting terrorism held by Western countries including the US and their geopolitical conspiracy to use Xinjiang to contain China.
I also noticed that in developing countries like Pakistan, Egypt and Malaysia, there are more and more objective and impartial reports on Xinjiang. As Western media are flooded with smears against Xinjiang, these objective and just voices are even more commendable. I hope you will find the time to read these books, reports and articles and oppose in an objective and impartial manner lies, rumors and disinformation about Xinjiang. I also hope you will not be blinded by bias and can tell the world the truth and facts about Xinjiang with your pen and camera. (2021.04.28)
2.Shenzhen TV: The US Solar Energy Industry Association released a Solar Supply Chain Traceability Protocol last week to help steer manufactures away from products involving suspected forced labor or other immoral labor behaviors. Some analysts say the solar energy industry in Xinjiang may become the next "Xinjiang cotton". Do you have any response?
Hua Chunying: As we've repeatedly said, the allegation of "forced labor" in Xinjiang is an outrageous lie. We still recall that not long ago, a few Western countries and anti-China forces went all out to hype up the so-called "forced labor" in Xinjiang's cotton-growing industry. Now they are turning to the solar energy industry. Xinjiang cotton is speckless and solar energy is clean, but those in the US and the West who are hyping up the issue have a dark and sinister intention. They are trying to fabricate lies like "forced labor" to create "forced industrial decoupling" and "forced unemployment" in Xinjiang to suppress Chinese companies and industries to serve their malicious agenda to mess up Xinjiang and contain China.
There is no "forced labor" in Xinjiang, only voluntary employment and free choice in the labor market. Workers of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang choose profession of their own free will, sign labor contracts with employers voluntarily following the principle of equality, and receive payment for their work. This is in accordance with China's Constitution and laws and conforms to international labor and human rights standards. A March report titled "'Forced Labor' or 'Pursuit of A Better Life'? An investigation of Xinjiang minority workers' employment in Guangdong, China" released by Jinan University detailed the fact that minorities from Xinjiang voluntarily choose to work and have decent jobs with solid data, true examples and field visits. Xinjiang authorities also held many press conferences and many people have shared their stories and expressed their indignation and condemnation on lies and rumors fabricated by the US and the West.
There have been more and more voices for justice on Xinjiang in the world for some time. For example, US independent news website The Greyzone, the website Project Syndicate, Counterpunch, media outlets from Australia, Brazil, Singapore, Sweden and so on, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, former mayor of Frogn municipality in Norway, French author, among others, have all published articles or books, pointing out that the allegations of "forced labor" and "genocide" lack evidence and exposing the double standard on counter-terrorism by the US and other Western countries as well as their geopolitical conspiracy to use Xinjiang to contain China. China Daily also ran an article with the title of "Things to Know about All the Lies on Xinjiang: How Have They Come About?". I hope those in the US will take some time reading them.
As I said the other day, some in the US would rather believe the two dozens of fake "academics" and "witnesses" than listen to the voices of the people from all ethnic groups in Xinjiang and people of insight in the world. This is inconsistent with its much-touted principle of democracy. But no matter what they do, I want to tell them that attempts to suppress Xinjiang's economic and social development and undermine its stability and prosperity to contain China will never succeed. (2021.05.12)
3.CNR: The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights said in a statement on March 29 that it has "received information that connected over 150 domestic Chinese and foreign domiciled companies to serious allegations of human rights abuses against Uyghur workers", and that it's "deeply concerned" about these allegations. Do you have a comment?
Hua Chunying: The spokesperson of China's Permanent Mission to the UN Office at Geneva has offered remarks on this. I'd like to stress that, the Working Group on Business and Human Rights, together with a few other special procedures of the Human Rights Council, turned a blind eye to authoritative information the Chinese government provided on a number of occasions and made no mention of it in its press release, but maliciously criticized China based on rumors and disinformation produced by anti-China forces and spread lies of "forced labor" out of political bias. China firmly opposes and categorically rejects the accusations. The statement demonstrated clearly the group's political tendency and bias against China and seriously violated the principles of, among other things, impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity of the Human Rights Council.
The Working Group and some in Western countries insist on the allegation that there is "forced labor" in Xinjiang. I want to ask them: where is the alleged overwhelming evidence? The BCI representative office in Shanghai stated the other day that "Since 2012, the Xinjiang project site has performed second-party credibility audits and third-party verifications over the years, and has never found a single case related to incidents of forced labor." How, then, did the others reach the conclusion of "forced labor"? Can they show us the evidence or not?
Their so-called evidence, I take it, is just some false research by a few like the rumor-manufacturer Adrian Zenz, which is then amplified by a few media outlets. This is a full-fledged assembly line for rumors or a chain of lies covering both manufacturing and peddling, which stand no chance against truth.
With regard to Xinjiang, we've stated repeatedly the plain facts, and yet some people choose not to see or report on them. Last Friday we played a video clip here showing remarks by Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell and retired US Army Colonel. He talked explicitly about the US strategic conspiracy in Xinjiang: "the third reason we were there [in Afghanistan] is because there are 20 million Uyghurs [in Xinjiang]. The CIA would want to destabilize China and that would be the best way to do it to foment unrest and to join with those Uyghurs in pushing the Han Chinese in Beijing from internal places rather than external". It is their undisguised intention to destabilize Xinjiang and contain China's development. There are 56 ethnic groups in China, including Uyghurs and the other 54 minority groups. Strangely, they seem to be attached only to the Uyghurs, voicing concerns about their human rights and so on. The real motivation behind it all is just this strategic conspiracy, isn't it? As to the cotton in Xinjiang, the likes of Adrian Zenz and the fake victims offering false testimonies, they are all but props in this play.
Some media agencies have also played a disgraceful role in this. As I recall, after we played that video clip last Friday, several foreign journalists raised many questions. But did the Q&A find its way into your reports? When you choose not to see or report on facts, and readily believe the views of the likes of Adrian Zenz and some so-called academics, aren't you being selective with your reporting? This perhaps calls for some reflection.
I would also like to ask you to think about this: do you see the same pattern from what the US and some Western countries are doing on Xinjiang-related issues today and what they did in Iraq, Syria and Libya? Back then, they blatantly waged war against sovereign states on their so-called "evidence", killing hundreds of thousands and displacing tens of millions of Muslims. It was only after many years that they admitted that the evidence was all false. When they admitted that, was there a tinge of the slightest regret or shame in their hearts? To the hundreds of thousands of lives lost, can you just make a passing remark of "false evidence" and be done with it? Who's there to hold them accountable? Have the media that helped them fan the flames and hype things up done any soul-searching? Does this conform with their principle of true and objective reporting?
Today some people are trying to stage the show once again in Xinjiang. But their strategic conspiracy has been exposed to all. Justice may be late, but will prevail in the end. Those people should have heard the uproar of the 25 million people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Now, the industrial chain of lies formed by lie-manufactures, certain media and politicians may still have some hegemonic influence to wield, but in the end, they will not succeed in covering up the truth and fooling the world.
We hope media agencies must uphold integrity, respect facts and keep their eyes wide open to distinguish between facts and falsehood. We will continue to provide you with convenience to help you see the facts and truth about Xinjiang. I hope relevant media outlets will think about my question, why do you choose not to see or report on the facts when they are staring you in the face? What is the underlying issue here? (2021.03.30)