Chinese embassy condemns UK motion passed on Xinjiang


China's Embassy in the United Kingdom has repudiated the motion passed by the British House of Commons regarding China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, calling it "a flat-out lie which violates international law".
In a statement published by the embassy on Friday, a spokesperson said the motion declaring that Uygurs in Xinjiang are being subjected to "crimes against humanity" and "genocide" was in disregard of the facts and common sense, and was invented with the intention of "discrediting and attacking China".
The spokesperson said: "This move gravely violates international law and the basic norms governing international relations and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs. The Chinese side firmly opposes this and expresses its strong condemnation."
The statement noted that "a finding of genocide must result from the application of authoritative, stern and inflexible procedural rules. It must survive a strict scrutiny of the facts and withstand the test of time. No country, organization, or individual is qualified or entitled to determine arbitrarily that another country has committed genocide".
The spokesperson said the allegation of so-called "genocide" is an outrageous smear on the development achievements of Xinjiang and China's Xinjiang-related policies.
According to the statement, the population of Uygurs in Xinjiang has continued growing in recent years, increasing from 10.2 million in 2010 to 12.7 million in 2018, a rise of 25 percent. This is higher than the growth rate of the Han ethnic group, which was about 2 percent.
The spokesperson made it clear that China strongly opposes the UK's blatant interference in China's internal affairs, adding "for those British MPs (Members of Parliament) making groundless accusation of 'genocide' against Xinjiang, it is rather the grave domestic violation of human rights here in the UK that calls for deep reflection and rectification".
The statement added: "We urge the UK side to recognize the development of Xinjiang, have a right understanding on Xinjiang-related issues, take concrete measures to respect China's core interests and major concerns, and immediately right its wrong moves."
Speaking at Friday's daily briefing in Beijing, China's foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian reiterated China's position, saying the claim of so-called "genocide" in Xinjiang is a "preposterous lie" concocted by anti-China forces, which the Chinese government and people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang firmly oppose and strongly condemn.
The motion by the British House of Commons has triggered criticism.
"Malicious anti-China slander, based on the flimsiest evidence imaginable, will only hurt the interests of British people," said Carlos Martinez, a London-based anti-war activist and co-founder of the No Cold War campaign, in a Twitter post. "Britain has much to gain from good relations with China — why give that up for the sake of an elaborate loyalty pledge to Washington?"
Xin Zhiming in London contributed to this story.