Embarrassing Confrontation: China Attempts to Justify Its Policies in East Turkistan to the International Press

The so-called "delegation from the Uyghur Autonomous Region" participating in the third session of the 14th National People's Congress being held in China attempted to deceive the international community through false statements related to East Turkistan.

According to the Chinese propaganda outlet Tengri Tag on March 9, the so-called "delegation from the Uyghur Autonomous Region" held a public meeting in Beijing and opened the meeting hall to Chinese and foreign media. During this process, officials appointed by China tried to deceive the international community by answering journalists' questions about East Turkistan.

Ma Xingrui, secretary of the so-called "Party Committee in the Uyghur Autonomous Region," repeated phrases that China uses as legal basis for the genocide it is committing in East Turkistan, declaring: "We have clearly and steadfastly implemented the promotion of awareness of the Chinese national community as a baseline for various works in ethnic regions."

Ma Xingrui, as he had done previously, attempted to deny China's ethnic genocide by blaming the United States and other Western countries, saying: "Anti-China forces in the United States and other Western countries have used human rights, ethnicity, and religion as a pretext, distorted facts, slandered Xinjiang, and imposed restrictions with malicious intent on Chinese companies. Their goal is to return Xinjiang to a state of poverty and backwardness. There is no forced labor or genocide, as they claim with the aim of obstruction. I invite all journalist friends to visit Xinjiang and see the reality for themselves."

Pro-China President Erkin Tuniyaz answered a question from Western journalists about "how to view the inclusion of Chinese companies on the US sanctions list due to forced labor?" also denying these crimes. He said in his response, "This does not align with the truth, does not comply with the rules, and has no legal basis. We strongly oppose it. Some of our companies have filed lawsuits against organizations and agencies that claim 'there is forced labor in Xinjiang'. We inspire and encourage more companies to use legal tools to protect their legitimate rights and interests."

In reality, China has brutally suppressed the people of East Turkestan for years under the pretext of so-called "fighting the three forces." As part of the genocide, China is working according to a plan to sinicize Islam and has imposed strict restrictions on all worship and acts related to Islam. Nearly 16,000 mosques in East Turkistan have been demolished or destroyed so far by China, and some remaining mosques have been converted into bars, cafes, and other activity venues.

The Chinese regime has also encouraged Chinese companies to settle in various parts of East Turkistan. It has expanded forced labor under the name of "employing surplus workforce" to include all villages in East Turkistan.

Recently, China also introduced a plan called "encouraging and guiding university graduates to work and establish projects" aimed at sinicizing East Turkistan and eliminating the Uyghurs, targeting the settlement of more than 200,000 Chinese settlers annually in East Turkistan.

The crimes of ethnic genocide committed by China against the Turkic peoples in East Turkistan, especially the Uyghurs, including mass detention, forced labor, exile, forced sterilization, forced assimilation, prohibition of language and writing, and other crimes, are being documented and proven through international human rights organizations, research bodies, and numerous witnesses.