Beijing Slams US Hypocrisy on Chinese Muslims

The permanent representatives of the U.S., Britain, and Germany at the United Nations (UN) will hold a virtual event on Wednesday focusing on how the UN and member states can support ethnic Turkic Muslim communities' human rights in Xinjiang. China has consistently rejected allegations that there are any human rights violations of ethnic communities in the region.

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A series of tweets launched on Tuesday by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman pointed to the U.S. record of rights abuses globally and said the upcoming event would surely ignore those facts.

"Some in the U.S. buy the 'account' of the few false witnesses and experts, but refuse to listen to the voices far outnumbering those of false actors, and heed the call of 1.4 billion Chinese people, including over 25 million people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang," the ministry's spokeswoman Hua Chunying wrote.

"The U.S. killed Muslims more than any other country in the world," Hua added. "As it waged wars and carried out military operations in the name of 'counterterrorism' in 80-plus countries, leading to 800,000+ deaths and tens of millions displaced in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria."

Speaking during a daily press briefing on Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman had slammed Washington's attempt to organize the event as "an insult" and said its sponsors intended to use "human rights issues as a political tool to interfere in China's internal affairs."

The Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang makes up about 45 percent of the region's population. The West accuses Beijing of cultural, religious, and economic discrimination in the region.

Last year, a UN human rights panel alleged that up to two million Uighurs had been forced into "political camps for indoctrination" in the autonomous region.

China rejects claims of mistreating the Uighurs, saying it has been taking anti-terrorism measures against separatists in the region who are seeking to join Takfiri outfits such as al-Qaeda.

Beijing describes the camps in Xinjiang as "vocational education and employment training centers," which are part of its efforts to tackle underdevelopment and a lack of employment in the area.