China combating the ambiguity
FRAMING narratives of ideological greatness rather than narratives of accountability is now a worn-out strategy that has long been adopted by the US against China.
Gas lighting public opinion and manufacturing consent among public opinion using Uyghur issues is raging once again.
Over recent months, Chinese government has been in overdrive to combat allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has dismissed the charges of genocide as “the most preposterous lie of the century, an outrageous insult and affront to the Chinese people, and a gross breach of international law and basic norms governing international relations. ”
It’s easy to write this off as propaganda! There are no abuses, much less a genocide; the people – whether Han, Uyghur, or another ethnic group – are happy, prosperous, and grateful to the Chinese Communist Party.
Xinjiang is not as dark as the West governments say. People’s lives are getting better and better.
Ordinary Xinjiang people are very supportive of such efforts. The government is helping their economy and trying to lift them out of poverty. China has been mobilizing all parts of the country to support Xinjiang in the past few years.
Almost every city needs to support a county or a region in Xinjiang. Westerners might feel that the Xinjiang issue will cause more divisions in China, but in fact it has united the majority of the people in China.
Every year, millions of foreign tourists visit Xinjiang. A vibrant and flourishing Uyghur culture exists in reality. Culturally, there are mosques around every corner and Uyghur Street signs.
Uyghur script in the top right corner of Chinese paper currency clearly depicts the respect State gives to minorities in the Mainland China.
Contrary to the realities, the US Customs and Border Protection Bureau passed a law known as “Uyghur Forced Labour Protection Law,” presuming that all products produced in Xinjiang shall be termed as “forced labour” products and shall be prohibited for import.
This has rightly been done in the past for blood diamonds but in the current scenario with Mainland China, the approach seems absurd and baseless.
The result is predictable and evitable; prohibiting imports from Xinjiang is actually going to create a “forced unemployment” which will rightly support and promote the US propaganda of crisis and uprising in the province.
It is just a matter of time before this step will create distress in the Xinjiang province that can help US justify their baseless findings.
In 2021, the Biden Administration announced that it was blocking the import of certain material that are used in solar panels from a company in Xinjiang over false allegations of forced labour.
The Xinjiang region is a major production hub for many companies that supply the world with parts needed to build solar panels.
Clearly this diplomatic boycott initiated by the United States is a political manipulation.
The US is playing a pivotal negative role in politicizing human rights, creating division and provoking confrontation.
Every right seems to have a corresponding duty, the two; rights and duties; represents two sides of the same coin.
The Chinese government has undeniably alleviated poverty and promoted its industry. It’s time for the western world to start acknowledging the proven fact.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Lahore.
