China counters Uighur criticism with explicit attacks on women witnesses
www.reuters.com
China, under growing global pressure over its treatment of minority Muslim Uighurs in far west Xinjiang, is mounting an unprecedented and aggressive campaign to push back, including explicit attacks on women who have made claims of abuse.

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.

  • TheModerateTankie [any]
    ·
    4 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.