China is taking “a series of measures” to silence Uighur women who attest to ill-treatment by the government, including releasing private medical information and accusing them of having sexual affairs, in an effort to discredit witnesses and take control of the narrative about its genocidal actions in Xinjiang.
“Some anti-China forces ignore facts and truth and wantonly fabricate all kinds of Xinjiang-related lies. People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, including Xinjiang women, live and work in peace and contentment,” said China’s foreign ministry Monday, contradicting the reality of abuse faced by an estimated one million men, women and children at the hands of the Chinese government.
In an attempt to silence opposition and reshape public perception, China is actively spreading private information that it believes will discredit the testimony of Uighur women who speak out about abuse.
The accusations range from the women supposedly having sexually transmitted diseases to fertility issues, ironically exposing the regime for its poor understanding of what discredits a witness.
“Everyone knows about her inferior character. She’s lazy and likes comfort, her private life is chaotic, her neighbors say that she committed adultery in China,” said a Xinjiang government official about one Uighur witness, as reported by Reuters.
“One reason the Communist Party is so concerned about these testimonies from women is because it undermines their initial premise for what they’re doing, which is anti-terrorism,” said Professor of Chinese History at Georgetown University and expert in Xinjiang policy James Milward, according to Reuters.
“The fact that there are so many women in the camps…who don’t have the faintest appearance of being violent people, this just shows how this has nothing to do with terrorism,” he continued.
China’s foreign ministry chocks the allegations up to Western media incompetence.
“To rebuke some media’s disgusting acts, we have taken a series of measures,” said deputy head of Xinjiang’s publicity department Xu Guixiang.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has created extensive presentations that include video footage of prepared monologues by former Uighur prisoners, which the government presents to pre-vetted journalists only.
China opposes any official U.N. investigation in Xinjiang based on the belief that the situation will not be assessed fairly.
“We welcome fair-minded foreigners to visit Xinjiang and learn the real situation there. At the same time, we are firmly opposed to interference in China’s internal affairs by any country or individual under the pretext of human rights, and to the hyping-up of the so-called “investigation” in Xinjiang by someone who is already convinced that we are guilty,” said China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin February 4.
