[ad_1]
Image source,fake images
Reports that Uyghur women who had been detained told the BBC that they had suffered systematic sexual assault in Xinjiang “re-education camps” have drawn international repercussions. The governments of the United Kingdom, United States and Australia have made official statements.
At the same time, the Chinese government directly accused the BBC report of “no factual basis” and “fake news”.
Recently, the human rights situation in Xinjiang has repeatedly become the focus of disputes between Western countries and China.
The US State Department issued a statement the day before the end of the Trump administration. Outgoing Secretary of State Pompeo alleged that China had committed “genocide and crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang. China has also refuted, saying that Pompeo “spreads rumors and lies” and that “rumors about Xinjiang are baseless and prejudiced fallacies.”
The latest BBC report
In a report published a few days ago, the BBC interviewed several Uighur women who had been detained in Xinjiang “re-education camps” and accused of having been sexually assaulted and raped.
One of the women who had fled to the United States told the BBC that women were raped by masked men “every night”. She also said that she had been tortured and gang-raped three times.
Another Kazakh woman from Xinjiang claimed that she had been detained in the camp for 18 months and was forced to strip Uighur women of their clothes, handcuff them, and then hand them over to “Chinese men”.
Tursunay Ziawudun stated that he was detained in a “re-education camp” for 9 months in 2018.
Reaction from the US, UK and Australia
The US State Department spokesman issued a statement on Wednesday (February 3), saying: “We are deeply concerned about the (BBC) report, including first-hand reports of systematic rapes and sexual assaults against Uighurs and other Muslim women detained in Xinjiang. Testimony from the camps. “
“These atrocities shock the conscience of the people and will inevitably have serious consequences.”
Nus Ghani, a Pakistani member of the British Parliament, said the “horrible story” in the latest report has once again added evidence of the “atrocities” of the Chinese government in Xinjiang. She called on the British government to ensure that it will not deepen relations with China in “any respect” until the full judicial investigation into whether China launched a “genocide” in Xinjiang is completed.
British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Nigel Adams said the government is “leading international efforts to hold China accountable.” Adams also told parliament: “Anyone who has read the BBC report will inevitably be shocked and disturbed by the obvious evil.”
The British government stated that it will continue to work with the European Union and the United States to put pressure on China on the human rights issue in Xinjiang.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne called on the United Nations to be allowed to investigate Xinjiang as soon as possible.
Labor Party Senator Kimberly Kitching of the Australian Senate said the BBC report “documented the most appalling and despicable human rights violations.”
Liberal Senator James Paterson said the report “should shock the world.”
In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian lawmakers also called for a joint condemnation of the “violation of the human rights of Uyghurs” by the Chinese government.
Image source,Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin
The Chinese government refutes
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has already refuted the aforementioned BBC report, accusing it of “unfounded discredit and slander”.
Wang Wenbin made the above remarks when answering questions from Reuters reporters about the BBC reports at a regular press conference on February 3.
When asked how he commented on the systematic sexual assault and abuse of women in the BBC’s “re-education camp” in Xinjiang, Wang Wenbin said: “The BBC has published false reports on Xinjiang-related issues more than once, and we have made clarifications and refutations many times ”.
He also said: “The Chinese side has so far published 8 white papers on Xinjiang, and the government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has also held more than 20 press conferences, showing people of all ethnic groups living in peace and joy, unity and harmony in Xinjiang with a lot of detailed figures and examples. Life also shows the fact that the legitimate rights and interests of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are effectively protected. “
Wang Wenbin also claimed that Xinjiang “has never had” so-called “re-education camps”, the BBC report “has no basis in fact” and that the interviewees “have been shown to be mere actors spreading false information.”
