Chinese leader Xi Jinping has spoken to UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet while visiting the Xinjiang region, warning against the politicization of human rights as an “excuse to interfere in the internal affairs of ‘other countries’ and defending the government from their government. register.
It comes amid renewed defenses in Beijing following the release of a major leak of Xinjiang security apparatus data, including photographs of thousands of detained Uyghurs and internal documents describing shooting-to-kill policies for those who try to escape.
Xinjiang is home to millions of Uighurs and other Turkish Muslims, who have been subjected to a Chinese government campaign of cultural, linguistic and social control and acts of oppression that governments, including the United States, have called genocide.
Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is in China for a highly orchestrated six-day visit, which includes the Xinjiang cities of Kashgar and Urumqi. The tour, which China has said is not an investigation, has been criticized by some Western lawmakers for its potential to be used as propaganda.
In a video call on Wednesday, Xi and Bachelet “discussed in depth the main issues related to the development of the Chinese human rights cause,” according to an official state media reading. The president said China has successfully embarked on a human rights path that “adapts to its national conditions.”
“There is no perfect‘ ideal country ’for human rights; there is no need for a “teacher” in charge of other countries, and we cannot politicize and instrumentalize the issue of human rights, participate in double standards and use human rights as an excuse to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. ” He told CCTV and Xinhua.
“Deviating from reality and completely copying the institutional model of other countries will not only be difficult to adapt, but will also have disastrous consequences, and in the end it will be the broad masses of the people who will suffer.”
The reading also stated that Bachelet, among other comments, told Xi that he “admired China’s efforts and achievements in eradicating poverty, protecting human rights and achieving economic and social development.”
The Guardian contacted the office of the High Commissioner, who gave a different version of his comments, delivered in front of some journalists. Foreign media has been banned from accompanying the tour.
“I am committed to this visit, the first visit by a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to China in 17 years, because it is a priority for me to relate directly to the government of the United Nations. China, on human rights issues, national, regional and global, “Bachelet told Xi, according to the UN transcript.
“For development, peace and security to be sustainable, locally and across borders, human rights must be at the core. China has a crucial rule to play within multilateral institutions to address many of the challenges currently facing the world, including threats to international peace and security, the instability of the global economic system, inequality, climate change and much more. I look forward to deepening our discussions on these and other issues, and I hope that my office can support efforts to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights, justice and the rule of law for all without exception. “
The transcript covered Bachelet’s comments at the beginning of the meeting, but not the entire conversation with Xi.
Foreign officials have been asked questions about what Bachelet’s visit could realistically accomplish, and there is concern that the Chinese government will use the trip to whitewash its human rights record. So far, the visit has included Bachelet, who has received a gift from Xi Jinping’s book on respect for and protection of human rights, and has been photographed elbowing Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The United States has described the visit as a mistake.
Xi’s comments to Bachelet on Wednesday underscored the Chinese government’s deep sensitivity to criticism of its human rights record. He has long denied allegations and evidence of his abuses against Uyghurs, saying he is pursuing anti-terrorism and poverty eradication programs in Xinjiang. At first, Beijing denied the existence of detention camps, before calling them vocational training centers.
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The so-called Xinjiang Police Files, released on Tuesday, were obtained by investigator Adrian Zenz from unidentified hackers and published by a media consortium including the BBC. They revealed thousands of photos of the detained Uighurs and a database of tens of thousands of records detailing the alleged crimes, including the study of the Scriptures or trips to sensitive countries, which led to their arrest or imprisonment. He also detailed policies on the extreme use of restrictions to transfer “apprentices” between facilities, and on permission for officers to shoot and kill escape attempts.
China’s media and state officials have reacted furiously to the release, reiterating long-standing claims that the evidence of abuse in Xinjiang is “the lie of the century” and accusing “anti-Chinese forces” of fabricating defamation. The media has exposed the success of Xinjiang’s economy and modern life in an apparent effort to counter the reports.
“It seems that the United States and the United Kingdom and other countries do not care at all about the truth, but they want to take advantage of the visit of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to promote the so-called ‘Xinjiang problem’ and defame China.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday.