A performance is staged at the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 1, 2023. Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar, inaugurated in 2003, now serves as a key sightseeing and shopping destination, mainly selling local specialties such as dried fruits, medicinal herbs, carpets, jades, ethnic costumes and musical instruments.(Photo: Xinhua News Agency)

In recent years, nearly 100 countries have publicly voiced support for China on Xinjiang-related issues in different ways at high-level multilateral human rights forums, Mao Ning, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said on Wednesday in response to campaigns on human rights issues related to Xinjiang at the United Nations (UN).

An event on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly this week focused on the so-called human rights abuses against the Uygurs in Northwest China'sXinjiangUygur Autonomous Region.

The event, which took place Tuesday afternoon, featured remarks from the US, the EU and German diplomats and was organized by the Atlantic Council, a foreign policy institute, as well as advocacy groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, according to Bloomberg.

Chinese diplomats reportedly issued a statement to other permanent missions to the UN, telling them not to attend the event. "China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations has expressed strong opposition to the event," read a report from Bloomberg on Tuesday.

In fact, Xinjiang enjoys social stability, economic development, ethnic unity and religious harmony, and the human rights of people of all ethnic groups are fully protected, Mao noted.

Xinjiang, an important node of the ancient Silk Road, is now a core area for the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt, and the forefront of China's westward opening-up. The region recorded a GDP growth of 3.2 percent year-on-year to reach 1.77 trillion yuan in 2022.

For some time now, some anti-China forces have been fabricating Xinjiang-related rumors and lies with the aim of using Xinjiang-related issues to tarnish China's image and impede China's development, Mao noted.

For instance, a report, which was compiled by the US-based Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), claimed that Western tourism to the Xinjiang region "risked" supporting the normalization of Chinese government policies that were intended to "destroy the Uygur identity," the Guardian reported.

In addition to speaking out publicly at multilateral human rights forums such as the United Nations General Assembly Third Committee and the Human Rights Council, many countries have also expressed support for China on Xinjiang-related issues in different ways.

Xinjiang is a wondrous place with majestic scenery, friendly residents, and fully protected traditional culture, and it is worth being recommended to the whole world, said diplomats from different countries who visited Xinjiang.

Global Times