Western media cites fake academics, witnesses forever, fail to provide solid evidence
Some names frequently appear in lies that defame and target Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the BBC and Adrian Zenz, the infamous anti-China “expert”, are among them. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has responded to the BBC’s latest sensational accusation of women in Xinjiang’s vocational education and training centers being “systematically raped.”
The BBC released a report on Wednesday, claiming that women in China’s “re-education camps” have been “systematically raped, sexually abused, and tortured.”
There are too many lies and rumors that have defamed Xinjiang recently, and the names of the BBC and Adrian Zenz have frequently appeared, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, told a routine press conference on Thursday.
Wang noted that the BBC interviewed a woman named Zumrat Dawut in July 2020, who claimed that she had been detained in education centers in Xinjiang and was forced to get her uterus removed.
But it turned out that the woman had never gone to any training centers in Xinjiang, nor did she have any sterilization surgery.
Aside from the BBC, Zenz’s name is not unfamiliar to us, as he is keen on making rumors and lies about Xinjiang to defame China and his so-called reports on Xinjiang have been debunked, Wang said, noting that “After we learn all the facts, there will be a question mark in our heads when we read or hear the BBC’s or Zenz’s reports on Xinjiang again.”
Looking through the BBC’s latest horrified and sensational accusation against China, readers would find that it was made based on “interviews” with only one Uygur woman – Tursunay Ziawudun – and her claim of “being raped.”
The other three names appearing in reports are a Kazakh women who claimed to help “remove” the clothes of women; two “actresses” who appeared in almost every round of the Western media’s hype of Xinjiang topics – firstly from “torturing” trainees to “birth control” and now “mass rape” – and an anonymous guard, although the BBC provided almost no information to prove the authenticity of his words.
Adrian Zenz, who has been hailed as an “expert” on Xinjiang by the BBC and other Western media, has relentlessly made reports to defame China’s Xinjiang, and he also was not absent from the BBC’s Wednesday report.
These victims of “camps” in BBC reports cannot offer evidence for their claims. The Western media has a notorious record on factual accuracy in its reporting – for example, making traffic jams a sign of “oppression.”
This time, the story happened within Xinjiang’s training centers, Jia Chunyang, an expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.
All the trainees graduated in Xinjiang and for the Western media, they can make up whatever they like without being challenged, Jia said, noting that the BBC used many images of women weeping to manipulate viewers emotionally.
The expert it cites always seems to be Zenz. Judging from its journalistic professionalism, the BBC has jumped to the conclusion of “systematic rape” too hastily and with bias, Jia said.
“As far as I know, previously some Uygurs in the region were recruited by overseas separatists and sold all their assets to go abroad. Due to language barriers, limited education and vocational skills, they have difficulty in making a living overseas. ‘East Turkistan’ separatists and terrorist organizations usually find ways to contact these people and coax them into telling lies to defame China,” Jia said.
The separatist organizations usually choose females, as women and their tears would touch readers and arouse sympathy. Under these circumstances, the facts would be put aside, Jia said.
The BBC’s story also echoed with Jia’s words. The BBC said that Tursunay, who claimed to have been “gang-raped” in a “camp” in the Xinyuan county of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, went to the US “with the support of the Uyghur Human Rights Project” (UHRP) and is applying to stay in the US.
The UHRP is a main project of the US-backed World Uygur Congress, which is generally believed to seek the fall of China. The project was funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The NED granted the UHRP a “whopping $1,244,698 between 2016 and 2019,” according to the Grayzone.
In recent years, with the support of some US nongovernmental organizations, the UHRP has carried out a so-called Human Rights Investigation and fabricated a Human Rights Report to attack and smear China’s policy on Xinjiang under the guise of “academic research” aimed at promoting “Uyghur Human Rights Movement” and engaging in anti-China separatist activities, Yalkun Yakuf, a deputy director of the Department of Public Security in Xinjiang, told a press conference in April 2020.
The names of Qelbinur Sedik and Sayragul Sauytbay also appeared in the BBC’s report as “witnesses.” Both names have appeared frequently in Western reports that hype new topics on Xinjiang.
Moreover, Sayragul Sauytbay, who claimed to have worked in the training centers and witnessed “rapes,” has been exposed by the Xinjiang authorities as a person wanted for suspected crimes involving illegal border crossing and loan frauds, and she has never worked in any training center.
A video uploaded online of Sayragul standing trial for illegal border crossing in Kazakhstan showed that she and her lawyer tried to develop her story in Xinjiang to avoid deportation but no tales of “mass rape” had come out of her mouth at that time.
A netizen called “Phil C” mocked the BBC and wrote that “BBC must be pretty poor & budget tight 4 NOT able to afford more expensive ‘supermodel’ to go into this fake dazzling headline!! Damn! This face photo has been used multiple times practically for ALL functions.., battered wife, farmer, war victim, janitor, beggar, & now…”
Another netizen named “Michael Kobs” listed some satellite images of the so-called camp in Xinyuan county in 2005, 2014, 2016 and 2019, which showed the quick development of the whole area.
“It would be a stupid idea to build a concentration camp as a jewel of the new city in the middle of the urban landscape. The BBC’s view of the area is a lie by omission,” the netizen said.
From previous reports of “camps” to “forced labor” and to “genocide” and “sexual assault”… these showed the West’s escalating hype over China’s Xinjiang with more vulgar content and without any bottom line. These media reports are aimed at future political moves – an old tactic played by the Western media and governments. This is why so many countries have stood up to comment on BBC reports, Jia said.
The expert noted that there is no need to get involved with fake news. It is more important to share the true development of Xinjiang with more of the developing countries.
Owner (1st L) of the tourist yard “Guli’s Home” chats with staff in Kashgar, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 7, 2018. Located in the ancient city of Kashgar, “Guli’s Home”, a local resident’s yard converted into a tourist resting place, has become a hot tourist attraction where visitors can experience everyday life in Kashgar. Kashgar greets the peak season for tourism from June to October. The development of tourism has brought changes for local people’s life. (Xinhua/Ma Kai)
