US needs to recognise 'genocide', take strong action against China: Uyghur leader

Prime Minister of East Turkistan Government in Exile, Salih Hudayar, said that the United States needs to recognise the human rights abuses in Xinjiang as “genocide”. Hudayar reacted to a tweet from the US State Department in which it shared a video regarding the alleged ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and members of other minority groups, which include coercive population control, forced labour, and repression of cultural and religious expression.

The State Department released a new webpage on September 13 to illustrate the targeted campaign against Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region. Uyghurs are Turkic-speaking Muslims in the Xinjiang province, also known as East Turkestan, who have been facing persecution in the name of “re-education” camps. 

Read: British Parliament To Debate Sanctions On China Over Atrocities Against Uyghurs On Oct 12

Read: Chinese Algorithms Used To Find 'signs' Of Islamic Extremism Among Uyghurs: Report

China rubbishes claims as 'rumours and slanders'

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin had rubbished the claims at a regular news conference, saying those are nothing but “rumours and slanders.” Wang said that the rights of ethnic minority workers from Xinjiang are protected by China's Labor Law and Labor Contract Law. He added that the Uyghur population in Xinjiang grew from 5.55 million to over 12 million in the past four decades.

“The US Department of State’s webpage on Xinjiang is full of lies and rumours,” he told the press briefing, without providing the rate of population growth in the past four years.

The spokesperson said that the counter-terrorism and “de-radicalisation measures” taken by the Xinjiang local governments in recent years have produced “remarkable results”. However, he failed to provide details on the so-called de-radicalisation measures which has been at the centre of controversy. Wang blamed the US for turning a deaf ear to “facts and truth”, adding that the State Department is trying its best to vilify the image of Xinjiang.

However, various investigative reports have suggested that China has been using mass surveillance programme to control every aspect of the life of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region. According to the latest report by Noema magazine, published by a US-based think tank, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has intensified the surveillance through data policing. 

Read: China's Plan To Shift UK Embassy Face Opposition From Locals Over Uyghurs' Treatment

Read: China Admits Death Of Uyghur Man Who Was Allegedly Detained In Xinjiang Camps