China has strongly refuted recent claims made by the U.S. in their International Religious Freedom Report that the Uyghurs are being oppressed. They criticized the U.S. for “deliberately disparaging China’s religious policies.”
Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, strongly refutes the U.S. report alleging oppression of the Uyghurs in China./Xin Jing Bao
During a regular briefing on the 1st, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning firmly stated, “The U.S.’s so-called “report” has no factual basis. It is filled with lies and disinformation and reeks of ideological bias. It is a distortion of China’s religious policy. China opposes it.”
She further claimed, “The Chinese government protects the citizens’ freedom of religious belief by the law. People of all ethnic groups in China are fully entitled to the freedom of religious belief as prescribed by law. In China, there are nearly 200 million religious believers, over 380,000 clerical personnel, about 5,500 religious groups, and over 140,000 places registered for religious activities. The facts are there for all to see and should not be distorted or denied.”
Ning argued that the U.S. fabricated claims of a so-called “genocide,” citing population growth statistics to support his assertion. He pointed out that from the first nationwide census in 1953 to the seventh in 2020, the Uyghur population in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region rose from approximately 3.676 million to 11.624 million. She emphasized that this growth rate not only exceeds that of the overall population in Xinjiang but is also higher than the increase in the Han Chinese population.
She claimed, “Xinjiang enjoys social stability, economic development, ethnic solidarity, religious harmony and rising living standards. The U.S., however, ignores those facts and keeps peddling the lies and disinformation. Its real aim is to create a pretext to keep China down.”
“Speaking of religion, the U.S. itself is fraught with politicization of religion, scandals involving clerical personnel, religious cults, and various other issues. Religious discrimination and persecution are commonplace, and ‘religious freedom’ is severely eroded. The U.S. is in no position to lecture other countries or point its fingers at their religious situation,” she further criticized.
The International Religious Freedom Report recently released by the U.S. Department of State describes that the Chinese government continues to claim control over religious groups, restricting the activities and personal freedom of believers. It further criticizes that the Chinese government has physically and digitally surveilled Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan monks, and others abroad. They are also committing genocide by oppressing Uighurs, among others. It seems inevitable that China would be infuriated by this.
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