Rejection of lies and fabrications

The United States with the support of some of its allies continues to escalate its onslaught against China with the Joe Biden administration claiming the Chinese authorities are repressing more than"1 million detained Muslim Uygurs" in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and engaging in "genocide", adopting the same rhetoric as its predecessor, the Donald Trump administration.

Many countries, including some in the West, but particularly in the developing world, such as in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, consider that the US and its allies have adopted an ill-considered approach, and compelling questions are increasingly being asked of the US and its handful of allies.

How can these serious allegations of "crimes against humanity" be made without backing them up with concrete and credible evidence? It is felt that such malicious manipulation of facts by the US only undermines its own credibility.

Why do the US and others continue to ignore the fact that the Xinjiang-related issues in essence evolve around counterterrorism and de-radicalization rather than about human rights? Also why has the remarkable economic and social progress that China has achieved over the last few decades including in Xinjiang where the Uygur ethnic population continues to grow apace, been given such short shrift by the Western media?

What prompted this sudden "concern" on the part of the US and some of its allies for the "well-being of Muslims" at this juncture, which has led to a flurry of punitive measures and sanctions? This not only constitutes an offense to the dignity of Chinese people but also a blatant interference in China's internal affairs and a grave violation of China's sovereignty and security interests.

Is this playing of "the Uygur card" by spreading preposterous fabrications about "genocide" not a deliberate attempt by the US to foment civil unrest in Xinjiang? Something that the US intelligence agencies have proposed as a means to discredit and destabilize China.

On the question of concrete evidence of "genocide" and other "human rights abuses", the US and its cohorts have not produced one iota of credible proof. The sad irony is the fact that the US and others who pride themselves on being democratic, just and fair, have discarded all these hallowed principles by falling hook line and sinker for the lies and fabrications on Xinjiang emanating from a variety of anti-China forces such as Christian fundamentalist Adrian Zenz, a so-called leading German expert and his questionable crony institutions such as the right-wing, US government-backed group, called "Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation". Zenz actually serves as a convenient tool for anti-China forces in a number of countries and in the process funds and manipulates "Uygur groups abroad". Furthermore, the bulk of reporting by the Western media on Xinjiang originates from Zenz and his ilk, with their so-called evidence based partly on false "internal documents" and "victim statements".

Fortunately, China's many friends, particularly in the developing world, who uphold an objective and unbiased attitude, have spoken up in support of China's position and positive measures on Xinjiang-related matters. At the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which concluded in March, about 80 countries made joint or separate statements to express their solidarity with and support for China's legitimate position on Xinjiang-related issues. In fact, the influential "Organization of Islamic Cooperation" consisting of 57 countries, as well as the "Gulf Cooperation Council" commended the progress in China's human rights cause and its counterterrorism and de-radicalization efforts. There is also widespread understanding in many African countries for China's position on Xinjiang.

It should also be noted that the International Criminal Court in The Hague has indicated recently that there was "no basis to proceed" with an investigation into alleged claims of genocide against the Uygur ethnic group.

Also of interest is that there was a recent difference of opinion within the US State Department's Office of the Legal Advisor, given that the latter also concluded earlier this year that there was insufficient evidence to prove genocide charges, placing the top diplomatic lawyers of the US at cross purposes with both the Trump and Biden administrations.

As for what motivated the US and some of its allies, to display this "new found "concern about the rights of Muslims, there is an increasing global realization that it is anchored in an outdated Cold War mentality which exposes the hegemonic idea of the US to pursue supremacy and deprive others of the right to development. Furthermore, human rights issues are being used as a pretext for interfering in China's internal affairs and impede China's development. The worst irony is that this so-called concern for human rights of Muslims in Xinjiang stems from a country that has been the most dominant and fervent proponent of bombing, sanctioning, torturing and displacing, millions of Muslims in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Iran and others over recent decades.

China's many friends will continue to value their bilateral relations with China and strengthen their efforts to counter the destructive tactics of those seeking to undermine China's success by politicizing and fabricating issues, in order to advance their own agendas.

What, therefore, is of increasing importance to a growing number of countries in the international community, as far as developments in Xinjiang are concerned, is to separate the propaganda promoted by the US and its few allies from the true facts on the ground.

Pertinent questions in this regard will therefore remain at the door of the US and others: Not least, where is the concrete and credible proof of all these serious allegations?

The author is a senior research fellow at the Institute of African Studies at the Zhejiang Normal University and a former senior diplomat in the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.