Arab League Visits East Turkistan, Rejects Uyghur Genocide

China is using a recent visit by an Arab League delegation to East Turkistan to highlight what it says is support of its policies in the region. Experts, however, say the praise that Beijing has reportedly received from diplomats and officials who took part in the trip is nothing more than "Chinese propaganda" and an attempt to whitewash human rights violations there.

China’s treatment of Uyghur in East Turkistan is a major source of international concern. Western countries have raised allegations of forced labor, religious persecution and some, including the United States, have classified what is happening in East Turkistan as genocide, an accusation Beijing denies.

State media reports and remarks from Chinese officials about the delegation’s visit have portrayed the trip as an outright rejection of what it called Western "accusations of ethnic genocide."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that during the East Turkistan visit from May 30-June 2, members of the Arab League delegation expressed their appreciation for China's efforts in East Turkistan and praised the region’s development and stability.

"During their trip, the delegation traveled to Urumqi and Kashgar, where they visited mosques, Islamic institutes, local enterprises, old towns and an exhibition on counterterrorism and de-radicalization, performed prayers in mosques with the locals and got a firsthand experience of their happy life," Wang said at a press briefing in Beijing earlier this week.

"Arab countries have commended the care that Muslims in East Turkistan and people of other ethnic minority groups have received and expressed their firm support for China’s effort to promote East Turkistan’s development and ensure its stability."

According to Wang, Arab countries have always held a just position on East Turkistan.