Bill on Xinjiang reveals dark side of US

Editor’s note: The US House of Representatives passed a bill on alleged human rights violations of Uygurs in the Xinjiang autonomous region on Tuesday. The so-called Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019 threatens to impose sanctions on Chinese officials and toughen the US stance on the Uygur issue. Three experts share their views on the US bill with China Daily’s Liu Jianna. Excerpts follow:

US will only harm itself by using double standard

The passage of the bill by the House has once again exposed the US’ double standard on anti-terrorism and human rights issues. The United States hosts such masterminds of the “East Turkestan Islamic Movement” as Rebiya Kadeer even though its state and treasury departments have listed it as a terrorist organization.

Over the past few years, the Xinjiang regional government has sought to eliminate the factors conducive to the spread of terrorism and extremism through innovative measures such as vocational training centers and improving people’s livelihoods. Which has helped maintain the stability of the region and expedited its economic development.

Indeed, a number of international organizations including United Nations organizations and different countries’ ambassadors to China have visited Xinjiang and lauded the achievements made by Xinjiang in countering terrorism and safeguarding human rights.

Yet some US congressmen have rushed to make an issue out of nothing. In the 40 years since China and the US established diplomatic relations, the US has never been this eager to smear China’s reputation with one human rights bill after another.

But the superpower has not, and will not, succeed in its stratagem to shame and pressure China. The US’ hysteria and frantic moves have only exposed its lack of confidence in its deceitful designs.

Ironically, the US is most sensitive to other countries’ interfering in its internal affairs, for example, the long-time debates over possible Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election and the Donald Trump-Ukraine scandal. But it never shies from interfering in other countries’ internal affairs. As such, the US has set the worst example of respecting other countries’ sovereignty.

China will not succumb to any US’ ploys, as facts demonstrate the rightfulness of its Xinjiang policy. The US is only wasting its time and energy, and hurting its own international image by targeting China while ignoring its valuable contribution to the fight against terrorism. China will continue to implement all effective and just measures despite the US’ attempt to interfere its internal affairs.

Tao Wenzhao, a researcher in US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Time for US politicians to shed old prejudices

It is almost certain that the US bill will become law just like the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 since the US president will not risk opposing the Congress, and the US continues to pretend to stand for human rights protection irrespective of evidence to the contrary.

The most fundamental problem with US congressmen is that without knowing anything about Xinjiang or its residents, they have decided to judge China based on assumptions, imagination and, worse, prejudice. The “Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act” is not only another brazen attempt to interfere in China’s internal affairs, but also an exhibition of the US’ arrogance and double standard. How come the US sees the recent attack on London Bridge as a terrorist attack while it describes the rioters in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region who attacked innocent people and set a man on fire as “peaceful protesters”? For the US, politics clearly takes precedence over human rights.

The US has expedited its attack on China on the pretext of defending Chinese people’s human rights, because it sees China as a strategic competitor and finds in human rights a convenient excuse to target China and occupy the high moral ground. Besides, as self-proclaimed and self-righteous human rights defenders, Americans have become accustomed to seeing other countries through the lens of prejudice.

The US’ practice of viewing its own values and standards of human rights as the only right sets of values and rights and forcing them on other countries will increase conflicts with other countries, which would impede the long-term promotion of human rights. More alarmingly, by passing the bill on Xinjiang, it could encourage terrorists and separatists to intensify their extremist activities in a bid to split the region from China.

But China today is much more orderly and less violent than most countries including the US. It’s no longer the country that some US congressmen imagine it to be. That’s why China welcomes everyone to visit Xinjiang and see for themselves the great achievements the region has made.

Zhu Feng, dean of the Institute of International Relations of Nanjing University

US should clean its own yard first

The US bill on Xinjiang comes as no surprise because the US launched a smear campaign a year ago to tarnish China’s reputation. It created the Uygur human rights issue to build pressure on China and meddle in China’s internal affairs.

The White Paper on Xinjiang’s Vocational Training Centers released by the Chinese government, which systematically explained the practical meaning, legal basis, training content, operation model and main achievements of the vocational training centers as part of China’s anti-terrorism measures, have been ignored by the US on purpose. Instead, numerous pieces of fake news have been fabricated by US media outlets and politicians to damage China’s image in the international community.

The three evil forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism were responsible for thousands of criminal cases from 1990 to 2016, trampling innocent peoples’ rights to life, health and development. Xinjiang has not only taken strict measures against the three evil forces, but also laid equal emphasis on preventing terrorism. It has established he vocational training centers as a way of combating terrorism through education and to decontaminate the soil that breeds terrorism and extremism. Which is not repression and internment of people, as described by the Western media.

A team of more than 1,000 people, comprising ambassadors to China, UN officials, journalists, representatives of various social organizations and religious groups from more than 90 countries and regions have visited Xinjiang’s vocational training centers since late last year. They have recognized and praised the tangible results Xinjiang’s anti-terrorism measures have produced, which can be an example for other countries combating terrorism.

US politicians have forgotten their own human rights abuses. For instance, a large number of the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay detention camp have not faced trial or been able to engage a lawyer for years. Despite not being convicted, they don’t know whether they will be released or not. According to an article in Los Angeles Times, a Pakistani national mistaken to be an extremist has been held and tortured at Guantanamo for 14 years. Therefore, the US would do well to clean its own backyard first before attacking other countries.

Wang Yu, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Chinese Borderland Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences