MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 18, 2024 -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday rebuked lies about genocide and forced labor in Xinjiang while responding to questions at the Munich Security Conference.

 

After delivering a keynote speech at the "China in the World" session at the conference, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, answered several questions, including some related to Xinjiang.

 

Wang said certain political forces have spread too many lies about Xinjiang and produced too much false information around the world. The so-called genocide is such a big lie.

 

Since the establishment of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Uygur population has grown from over 3 million to more than 12 million nowadays, he said, adding that the average life expectancy of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang has increased from 30 years to 75.6 years.

 

Calling such facts the best evidence of protecting human rights, Wang said the freedom of religious belief of all ethnic groups there has been well protected, citing examples that Muslims enjoy enough religious sites and the government has funded the repair and maintenance of mosques.

 

Government documents and store signs are bilingual and the languages and cultures of various ethnic minorities, including the Uygurs, have been protected and passed on, he added.

 

Speaking of the so-called forced labor accusations, Wang said such charges could be easily trumped up by a mind to frame others. "Don't the Uygur people have the right to work and the freedom to employment?" He asked.

 

Using forced labor as an excuse to blame China is essentially aiming to take the jobs away from the Uygur people and make their products unsaleable, Wang said.

 

He said Xinjiang is open to friends from all over the world and welcomes people to go to Xinjiang and see by themselves.

 

Those who have been to Xinjiang all have a consensus that what they saw and heard are completely different from what they had read from the Western media, Wang added.

 

China's rapid development has caused discomfort and anxiety among some authorities, so they made up such lies about Xinjiang to cause disruption and thereby prevent China's development and revitalization, Wang said.

 

However, China also has the right to develop, he said, noting that 1.4 billion people's success in modernization would be huge progress for human civilization.

 

The formation of China's ultra-large market will also provide new development opportunities for all countries and help the world achieve common development and prosperity, he said.

 

President Xi Jinping has emphasized that humankind is living in the same global village and all countries are like passengers aboard the same ship who share the same destiny, Wang noted, calling for efforts to rise above differences and obstacles, build a community with a shared future for mankind, and join hands in protecting the planet.

 

This is China's global perspective and the goal of China's diplomacy, he said.