Residents in Urumqi, capital of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, dance in a square. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

Five Chinese central government departments and the regional government of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region voiced strong opposition on Wednesday against the US "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act," condemning the US for interfering in China's internal affairs.

The five central government departments included the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, the National People's Congress (NPC), the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the national counter-terrorism office under China's Public Security Ministry.  

The act wantonly interferes in China's domestic affairs and its fabricated stories are laden with twisted facts, the five departments and the Xinjiang regional government noted in their statements. 

It reveals US double standards on counter-terrorism issue and its menacing intention to smear China's counter-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts in Xinjiang, aiming to contain and split China, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Ethnic Affairs Commission. 

"Xinjiang-related issues are never issues about human rights, ethnic or religion, but problems of counter-terrorism and counter-secession," Hua Chunying, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, said in a statement. 

The two departments warned of countermeasures against the US' legislation. The Foreign Ministry and the Xinjiang regional government highlighted wide endorsement in the world on the development in Xinjiang in recent years. 

Since the end of 2018, more than 70 groups of more than 1,000 officials, journalists, religious delegations and scholars from foreign countries and regions visited Xinjiang and spoke highly of local counter-terrorism and de-radicalization work. 

In October, more than 60 countries renewed support for China's counter-terrorism measures in Xinjiang in response to a statement issued by representative from the UK on behalf of 23 countries raising concerns over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang at the UN General Assembly. 

All these effectively prove that the US is totally against the facts and the mainstream public opinion of the international community, the Ministry stressed. 

The Foreign Ministry, the CPPCC, the counter-terrorism office and the Xinjiang government presented the dire situation when Xinjiang was reeling under frequent terrorist attacks, which seriously damaged people's livelihood and safety, and trampled their dignity. 

From 1990 to 2016, the three evil forces - secessionist, terrorist and extremist forces - launched thousands of violent terror activities in Xinjiang region, killing a large number of innocent people, incurring massive property losses, according to the regional government. 

But some US politicians have long been turning a blind eye to the three evil forces' violent activities in Xinjiang and don't care at all about the safety of ordinary people there, said the National Ethnic Affairs Commission.

To battle this havoc, China launched a five-year counter-terrorism campaign, which has effectively curbed the tendency, safeguarded local stability and restored the safety of the locals, the commission said. 

Liu Yuejin, director of the counter-terrorism office, said at a press conference on Wednesday in response to the US act that Xinjiang has not witnessed any violent terrorist incidents in the past three years. China has joined 12 global counter-terrorism conventions and played an active role in international multilateral mechanisms. 

Global Times