The accusations by Britain and other countries on China's Xinjiang policies are untruthful and interfere with China's internal affairs and judicial sovereignty, a Chinese envoy said here Wednesday at the ongoing 43rd session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council.
The accusers have defied facts, being either unaware of or unwilling to admit the truth about the human rights situation in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said Liu Hua, special representative for human rights of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Even worse, some have employed human rights as a policy tool to smear and discredit China, Liu said, criticizing them for practicing double standards in regard to the counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures China has lawfully taken in Xinjiang.
These countries and forces claimed that China's measures are excessive and violate human rights whereas similar practices adopted in their own countries are viewed as part of the rule of law, she said.
They rejected China's invitation to visit Xinjiang, and when over 70 countries explicitly supported China's Xinjiang policies via joint letters or statements, deeming them as positive anti-terrorism and de-radicalization practices and effective measures to protect the basic human rights of all ethnic groups, they said those countries were under China's pressure and only the hearsay they have repeated was true, she noted.
The Chinese envoy said that since the 1990s, the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism at home and abroad have carried out thousands of violent terrorist attacks in Xinjiang, causing huge human and property losses and trampling on the human rights of local residents.
The Chinese government has adopted a series of counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures in Xinjiang in accordance with the law, she said, citing the establishment of vocational education and training centers as an example.
Liu said the measures have received support from people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang for having greatly improved the local security situation and effectively protected their basic human rights.
No violent terrorist attack has occurred in Xinjiang in the past three years. Last year, Xinjiang received over 200 million tourists and its per capita gross domestic product recorded a 6.2-percent growth, she said, adding the region is expected to eliminate extreme poverty this year.
Liu said China welcomes the visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Madam Michelle Bachelet to visit China, including to Xinjiang, this year, adding the Chinese side is having close contact with Bachelet's office to arrange the visit.
The Chinese envoy said facts show that there is not a one-size-fits-all model for human rights protection, and that modernization is no Westernization.
Human rights protection must adhere to a development path that fits a country's own conditions, she said, adding China's practice "is in line with the spirit of the UN Charter and relevant human rights treaties."
