Students have an English class at Urumqi No.1 Senior High School in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 19, 2020. As of Friday, over 10 provinces and regions across the country have announced dates and arrangements for starting the new semester, most of which put graduating middle and high school students at priority. Among them, Qinghai, Guizhou and Xinjiang have already resumed classes for some students, while the rest have scheduled reopening schools in late March or early April. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)
By Liu Xin
A Turkish scholar who suggested that “victims” from Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region seek “justice” in international criminal courts and accused China of “genocide” is actually seeking personal gains, and his advice, which lacks any legal basis, only serves the purposes of some anti-China forces in drawing international attention to Xinjiang and slandering China, Chinese experts on international law and human rights said.
Ilyas Dogan, a Turkish professor from Ankara Hac? Bayram Veli University, was cited in a report of a right-wing Turkish news outlet, Kirim Haber Ajansi, on March 4 as saying that the Chinese government is carrying out “genocidal acts” in Xinjiang and if “Uygurs authorized him,” he could pursue the issue in the international courts as a lawyer.
Erkin ?ncan, a Turkish journalist, told the Global Times that Ilyas Dogan is known for his support for Uygur separatism, his nationalist ideas and opposition to the government in Turkey. The news outlet that interviewed Ilyas Dogan frequently reports on Uygur separatists and always gives one-sided reports on China’s Xinjiang policies.
“I think Dogan’s request for authorization to sue China is just hyping. Which Uygurs does he want to represent? Does he mean separatists from the CIA-backed World Uyghur Congress? Or Uygur terrorists fighting in Syria? Or overseas anti-China forces?” Erkin asked.
The Turkish professor Ilyas Dogan has posted a lot of misinformation on China and smeared China’s policies in Xinjiang on his social media accounts, including Twitter and Facebook. The professor maintains interactions with “Uygurs in exile” from Xinjiang and follows Rushan Abbas, head of the Campaign for Uyghurs affiliated to the World Uyghur Congress, a US-backed network seeking the “fall of China.” Abbas is believed to have worked for several US intelligence agencies.
“As a professor of international law, Ilyas Dogan is unprofessional and irresponsible by baselessly accusing China of committing genocide and he intended to serve some anti-China forces,” Zhang Yonghe, executive dean of the Human Rights Institution of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Zhang said that there are no “internment camps” in Xinjiang. Vocational education and training is a kind of assisting and education measure in dealing with illegal or criminal acts of terrorism, extremism of the perpetrators in accordance with the law. Trainees’ human rights have been fully protected, and all trainees have now graduated.
In his interview with Turkish media on March 4, Ilyas also listed some crimes he alleged the Chinese government “implemented” in Xinjiang, including persecution in the”camps” in Xinjiang, Chinese officials staying in Uygurs’ homes and “undertaking acts such as rape since 2017” and “5-year-old children being put into camps.” All of these accusations have been repeatedly refuted by the Chinese authorities and the Xinjiang regional government.
Parhati Rouzi, a senior Xinjiang official, said at a press conference in January that no good person would fabricate lies such as “ethnic Han men sleeping in the same room as local women” while refuting claims of officials “raping” Uygur women.
Zhang Yonghe, who has visited Xinjiang many times, told the Global Times that pairing up with families of ethnic minorities is also one of the methods used by Xinjiang to help with local poverty alleviation work, which is also in accordance with the UN’s goal of poverty alleviation to protect basic human rights.
According to Parhati, Xinjiang began the “pairing assistance” program to enhance ethnic unity in 2016. Since then, 1.1 million officials of different ethnic groups have been paired with 1.6 million Uygurs, and they respect and help each other. People who participated in the “pairing assistance” program have donated 940 million yuan ($134.85 million) in total, helping their paired partners with medical care, education and employment.
In response to Ilyas Dogan’s accusations of sending children to the “camps,” Zhang said that there are no camps in Xinjiang. “Children of a certain age will go to kindergarten, which means their right to education is being protected in Xinjiang. Does the professor call schools in Xinjiang camps? Aren’t children in Turkey going to school? Does he say their children are being sent to camps?” Zhang asked.
Malicious intent
Zhang also noted that Ilyas Dogan didn’t attempt to seek comprehensive and solid information about Xinjiang but only cited baseless rumors. His credibility as a scholar should also be questioned.
Ilyas Dogan emphasized that he “could be the lawyer in the international courts if Uygurs authorized him.”
Ilyas Dogan’s suggestion to sue the Chinese government in international criminal courts has little legal basis and will not work. He asked for the authorization of Uygurs, which showed that he is seeking personal gains and wants to hype the Xinjiang issue in international courts, Zhu Ying, deputy director of the National Human Rights Education and Training Base of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times.
The crimes he alleged China has “implemented” do not exist and the method he suggested to collect “testimony”against China may not be admissible to court, said Zhu, noting that by bringing the topic of Xinjiang to international courts, Ilyas also attempted to sow discord between China and the Islamic world.
Lu Zhi’an, a Fudan University professor, told the Global Times that no violent attacks have happened in Xinjiang in nearly three years, which means Xinjiang residents’ human rights have been well protected.
Professor Ilyas Dogan ignored the facts and wanted to link China to the crime of genocide, which aims to stigmatize China and makes it easy for certain countries to impose sanctions on China, Lu said.
On March 11, the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) released a report stating that forced labor inside and outside of Xinjiang’s vocational education and training centers constitutes “systematic repression” of minority groups, an accusation that China has repeatedly denied. It has also been used by some US politicians to call for sanctions against China over the issue.
