Family planning violators in Xinjiang imprisoned?

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo published a press statement titled "On China's Coercive Family Planning and Forced Sterilization Program in Xinjiang" on 29 June 2020. On the same day, the Associated Press released an investigation report titled "China forces birth control on Uygurs to suppress population" (See this report at https://apnews.com/e2674c069d46f6d5c9a3d3be40d612d4, accessed on September 1, 2020.). Both Pompeo' statement and the Associated Press's report claimed that aiming to curb the Muslim population in Xinjiang, Chinese government has taken a series of draconian measures to slash birth rates among Uygurs and other minorities.

One research report, written by Adrian Zenz and titled by "Sterilizations, IUDs, and mandatory birth control: The Chinese Communist Party's campaign to suppress Uygur birth rates in Xinjiang" (hereinafter, referred to as Zenz's report), was published by Jamestown Foundation in June 2020. Zenz's report is the main citing source of Pompeo's statement and the Associated Press's investigation report. Zenz's report claimed that its data was quoted from China's official documents and statistical yearbook, yet in fact, this report has a large number of problems, mainly including fabricating facts and falsifying data. The wording that Chinese government has adopted compulsory sterilization to Uygur women in Xinjiang, in the essence, is a baseless fake news which was concocted by US government and some western foundations and scholars with anti-communist background.

Adrian Zenz, the author of the report, is a Germany scholar hired by The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation — an extreme right-wing organization sponsored by the US government. Since its establishment in 1983, this foundation, disregarding the objective facts, has repeatedly conferred so-called "human rights awards" to some criminal terrorists, and slandered and denied China's salient contribution in fighting against COVID-19. In his report, Zenz listed his so-called significant research findings of Chinese government suppressing Uygur birth rates by mandatory measures, and declared that "[f]or the first time, the veracity and scale of these anecdotal accounts (These anecdotal accounts here refer to "mandatory birth control in Xinjiang".) can be confirmed through a systematic analysis of government documents"(Zenz's report, p2.). In the following sections, using objective facts and statistical data, we will refute Zenz's "significant" research findings and eventually expose how he concocted these lies through fabricating facts and falsifying data.

Rumor: Those ethnic minority women who violated Xinjiang's family planning policies would be imprisoned to the vocational education and training center.

Fact:

This is the third lie made by Zenz in his report. He claimed that Xinjiang's government documents stipulate that those ethnic minority women who violate family planning policies would be sent to the vocational education and training center. He regarded these official documents as a piece of "strong" evidence to prove the authenticity of "Karakax List". "Karakax List" pointed out that the violations of family planning policies were the most common reason for internment.

Ironically, after looking through these official documents Zenz listed and quoted in the report, I has not found any evidences to prove Zenz's statement.On the contrary, all the documents emphasized that the family planning work must be carried out in compliance with national laws and local regulations.

In the white paper of Vocational Education and Training in Xinjiang published by the State Council Information Office, it is clearly stated that, Xinjiang's vocational education and training work aims to "prevent the breeding and spread of terrorism and religious extremism, effectively curbing the frequent terrorist incidents and protecting the rights to life, health, and development of the people of all ethnic groups"(See this white paper: http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2019-08/16/content_5421633.htm, accessed on September 2, 2020.). The Population and Family Planning Law of the People's Republic of China also has clearly stipulated about the penalties for the acts violating the law, that is,the illegal child-bearers will pay social compensation fee. The official website of Xinjiang's government has a detailed policy interpretation on family planning policy in Xinjiang. It interprets that, in the case that residents who are temporarily unable to pay social compensation fee due to families' economic difficulties, the payment can be deferred or paid in installments. It fully demonstrates that the Chinese government not only obeys the principle of ruling the country by law, but also has the characteristics of humanity during the specific implementation process. Zenz's report, however,deliberately fabricated the non-existent connection between the establishment of vocational education and training center and the illegal activities violating the law of family planning, in an attempt to stigmatize and attack China's family planning policies and to negate the achievements of vocational education and training work in anti-terrorism.

What is "Karakax List", a so-called leak official document mentioned in Zenz's report? In February 2020, some Western media released a document without any official stamps, claiming that this document called "Karakax List" recorded the specific reasons in details why more than 300 Uygur residents were detained in vocational education and training center in Karakax county. According to this document, the illegal childbirth was the primary reason for Uygur residents' being detained.China Daily did a careful investigation and verification about "Karakax List" in this February. This report found that the vast majority of the 311 Uygur residents listed on the "Karakax List" have been working and living normally in society the whole time, and only very few people, who were affected by religious extremism and committed minor offenses, received vocational education and training(China Daily,"Officials: Xinjiang 'name list' terrorist hoax",February 24,2020. See https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202002/24/WS5e5307e9a3101282172799f1.html, accessed on September 3, 2020.). The "Karakax List", as one editorial from Global Times pointed out, was totally fabricated, and its concurrence reflected the customary tactic used by Western countries to discredit China's Xinjiang policy(Global Times,"When will Western media show around Xinjiang end?", February 28, 2020. See: https://opinion.huanqiu.com/article/9CaKrnKpsia, accessed on September 3, 2020.).