Xinjiang Governor Shohrat Zakir accused the US of launching a smear campaign against Beijing. He said the US has also chosen to turn a blind eye to Xinjiang’s social stability, and is using issues there to sow discord among ethnic groups in China.
Shohrat Zakir said that from 1990 to the end of 2016, separatist, terrorist and extremist forces launched thousands of terrorist attacks in Xinjiang, killing ordinary people, assassinating religious leaders, endangering public security, attacking government organisations, and planning riots. The peace and stability in Xinjiang today didn’t come easy but by fighting and preventing terrorism in accordance with the law. But the human rights groups and former detainees have said conditions in the camps are poor, with inmates subject to psychological and physical abuse.
He said the counterterrorism measures in Xinjiang are no different from anti-terrorism measures in the US or any other Western nations. Zakir, who is also deputy secretary of the Xinjiang Communist Party, said any attempt to disable Xinjiang was doomed to fail.
Tension has flared in recent weeks between China and the US over Beijing’s treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority and protesters in Hong Kong, complicating prospects for a near-term deal to end a 17-month long trade war.
The US House of Representatives has passed “the Uighur bill” requiring a stronger response to Beijing’s treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority and for calls for the closure of the camps in Xinjiang.