China really dropping the ball on this one.

Chinese officials have named women, disclosed what they say is private medical data and information on the women’s fertility, and accused some of having affairs and one of having a sexually transmitted disease. The officials said the information was evidence of bad character, invalidating the women’s accounts of abuse in Xinjiang.

This on the heels after last month referring to Uighur women as baby making machines.

China has to work on their PR game.

    • lohs [she/her]
      ·
      3 years ago

      Yeah they cite "A Reuters review of dozens of hours of presentations from recent months and hundreds of pages of literature, as well as interviews with experts," but give no actual link to those presentations or even the ones they reference here.

      "During a regular daily press briefing last week, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin held up images of witnesses who had described sexual abuse in Xinjiang. The account of one of them, he said, was “lies and rumours” because she had not recounted the experience in previous interviews. He gave medical details about the woman’s fertility."

      "Xinjiang officials in January said a woman who had spoken to foreign media had syphilis, and they showed images of medical records - unsolicited information that was not directly related to her account."

      "A Xinjiang government official said of another witness last month: “Everyone knows about her inferior character. She’s lazy and likes comfort, her private life is chaotic, her neighbours say that she committed adultery while in China.”"

      I don't understand why these articles don't link to them, they clearly have the videos.

    • Huldra [they/them, it/its]
      ·
      3 years ago

      https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/03/iran-proposed-laws-reduce-women-to-baby-making-machines/

      Wow weird how its a totally normal phrase to use if you're a western NGO using it against the middle east.

  • TheModerateTankie [any]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Very accurate summation of the following exchanges

    Reuters: During an address to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned the rights record of China, and said the United Nations must be given urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang to investigate reports of abuses in the region. What's the ministry's comment on this?

    Wang Wenbin: As we've said many times before, the accusations of the so-called "forced labor" and "forced sterilization" are rumors and lies fabricated by anti-China forces. Such disinformation has no factual basis and will collapse one day like a sandcastle.

    Xinjiang-related issues are China's domestic affairs. I have elaborated on this in my response to the Canadian journalist. We urge the UK to respect fact, stop making wrongful remarks and stop interfering in China's domestic affairs.

    I would also like to point out that for quite some time, we have heard and seen too many lies on Xinjiang-related issues to slander and smear China. Not long ago, I told you the truth of a Uyghur woman named Zumrat Dawut, who claimed she was forced to undergo "forced sterilization" in an interview with BBC. Today, I'd like to share another example of lies on Xinjiang.

    This example is about a Uyghur woman named Tursunay Ziyawudun. In early February, in her interview with BBC, Tursunay Ziyawudun claimed that there were "systemic sexual abuses" in vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang, making a piece of sensational fake news. But the truth is, just like Zumrat Dawut, Tursunay Ziyawudun is an "actress" for certain elements to slander and smear China. She said in the interview, "The police knocked me on the floor and kicked me in the abdomen. I almost passed out." However, a year ago, in an interview with Buzzfeed, she said: "I wasn't beaten or abused." US media pointed out that before arriving in the United States, she had multiple interviews with foreign media outlets and institutions. However, she did not once mention the so-called "sexual abuse" in vocational education and training center in Xinjiang, or that she is a victim of such abuses. What is strange is that, several months after arriving in the United States, Tursunay Ziyawudun changed her narrative after being trained by certain forces. She recently had another interview with CNN where she said she had a contraceptive IUD implant. The fact is, her family members all know that she is infertile. She has never had any contraceptive operation in Xinjiang.

    Kyodo News: A follow-up on your earlier response to a question on Xinjiang. If I understand correctly, the main reason you talked about is that woman didn't mention being subject to sexual abuses in her interviews with foreign press. But it's universally believed that it may take some time for a victim of such assaults to speak up and tell people about her experience due to various concerns.

    Wang Wenbin: From what I talked about, I believe you all know Tursunay said many things that are inconsistent with the truth. The fact is, she made many lies and rumors. Considering her character, should we just believe her words are true when she accuses the vocational education and training centers of having systemic sexual abuses against women? Why didn't BBC even do some fact-checking before broadcasting it? Doesn't this tell us something?

    There have been various smears against China's Xinjiang. We hope all people can oppose smear-mongering and verify the information in a cool-headed and objective manner, instead of being deceived by rumors and lies or becoming part of the rumor-mongering process.

  • Huldra [they/them, it/its]
    ·
    3 years ago

    The phrase "baby making machines" has been used by every feminist and human rights org in the world basically to refer to how women have been treated in the middle east, its a load of shit.

    • Huldra [they/them, it/its]
      ·
      3 years ago

      Even if this story is 100% true, all it displays is that the country with the highest population on the planet is not monolithic, the OPs use of "China" as a single entity is just bog standard sinophobic shit.

      • GrandAyatollaLenin [he/him,comrade/them]
        ·
        3 years ago

        All actions and statements refrenced come from the Chinese government and members of the single Communist Party of China.

        So, yes. China is not a monolithic entity, but for these purposes the word "China" refers to the government. Given the lack of conflict between officials, we can analyse the Chinese government as a monolithic entity.

        • Huldra [they/them, it/its]
          ·
          3 years ago

          Not when it comes to individual statements from specific people within the government, basically no fucking government I've seen outside of China is treated like this in reasonable debates and discussions, maybe with the exception of the DPRK where instead of everything being the monolithic "China" its the monolithic Kim Jong Un.

          • GrandAyatollaLenin [he/him,comrade/them]
            ·
            edit-2
            3 years ago

            People here talk like that all the time. America does this, America does that. Never "This one section of an organisation did this without the knowledge of Congress or other government employees." Statements from official government spokespeople at official press conferences are always considered as statements from the state, not the spokesman.

            And most governments don't follow Democratic Centralism. You can find someone in the government criticizing everything they do or say. Show me the Chinese politicians condemning these statemets.

            • Huldra [they/them, it/its]
              ·
              3 years ago

              I disagree, while it happens sometimes its nowhere near the norm and usually only happens when the government as an entity does or says something rather than an individual member of the government doing so.

  • maverick [they/them]
    ·
    3 years ago

    This is definitely troubling if it's true. Are there any other sources?

    • gammison [none/use name]
      ·
      3 years ago

      https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/t1856125.shtml - press conference guy gave, not sure where the Xinjiang officials statements are you'd probably have to dig around local chinese news.

      • invalidusernamelol [he/him]
        ·
        3 years ago

        I don't see anything negative about Uyghur women in general in there. Just a very thorough refutation of one accuser's claims that most people seem to agree is fair.

        • lohs [she/her]
          ·
          edit-2
          3 years ago

          For others, Ctrl+F "Tursunay Ziyawudun" in the transcript: https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/t1856125.shtml

          "This example is about a Uyghur woman named Tursunay Ziyawudun. In early February, in her interview with BBC, Tursunay Ziyawudun claimed that there were "systemic sexual abuses" in vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang, making a piece of sensational fake news. But the truth is, just like Zumrat Dawut, Tursunay Ziyawudun is an "actress" for certain elements to slander and smear China. She said in the interview, "The police knocked me on the floor and kicked me in the abdomen. I almost passed out." However, a year ago, in an interview with Buzzfeed, she said: "I wasn't beaten or abused." US media pointed out that before arriving in the United States, she had multiple interviews with foreign media outlets and institutions. However, she did not once mention the so-called "sexual abuse" in vocational education and training center in Xinjiang, or that she is a victim of such abuses. What is strange is that, several months after arriving in the United States, Tursunay Ziyawudun changed her narrative after being trained by certain forces. She recently had another interview with CNN where she said she had a contraceptive IUD implant. The fact is, her family members all know that she is infertile. She has never had any contraceptive operation in Xinjiang.

          Tursunay's lies are not even clever ones. They can be revealed by anyone. Regrettably, however, some media agencies, including famed international media outlets like BBC, grabbed such fake news and broadcast without any verification. They themselves became tools of Xinjiang-related rumor-mongering. BBC also blamed China's "tight restriction" on journalists for the lack of verification. But the facts are there for all to see. As a nearly century-old media outlet, why didn't BBC do some fact-checking? What hindered it was its intention, not incompetence.

          We have seen too many rumors and fabrications produced by BBC on Xinjiang and China, too many that I cannot present them all here. We hope all people can oppose lies and slanders against other countries, and avoid being fooled by lies and becoming carriers of disinformation like BBC."

      • maverick [they/them]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Thanks for the link.

        After reading through it the worst thing I could find was that he said one of the women that did interviews with BBC is infertile. Somewhat over the line to say that in a press conference but it wasn't to attack her character but to attack her claims of forced sterilization. Not great but not nearly as bad as the article above makes it out to be.

        • gammison [none/use name]
          ·
          3 years ago

          Yeah the really bad stuff is the Xinjiang local officials, but I don't speak mandarin and am not gonna bother the people I know who do to go hunt for it right now lol.

          • EthicalHumanMeat [he/him]
            ·
            3 years ago

            So in other words, you have no evidence for this "really bad stuff" and are just gonna take Reuters' word for it.

  • RowPin [they/them]
    ·
    3 years ago

    After I finish defending China, the most populous country on the planet, I'm thinkin' about getting around to defending a few other underrated gems. The Beatles? You've probably never heard of 'em. Moby Dick? Yep, lil' obscure tome I picked up recently. And hell, if you think Avengers: Endgame ain't good, I'll have you out on your ass, bub!

  • Doc14 [she/her]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Here comes the banwave for everyone who posts negative things about China.