Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun

China on Friday expressed firm opposition to certain countries' malicious slander of China's ethnic policies, interference in China's internal affairs and undermining ethnic unity in China, urging relevant countries to respect plain facts, stop spreading lies, and stop interfering in China's internal affairs by hyping up ethnic issues.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks on Friday in response to a question regarding US and EU's "concern" over China's Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law. 

Certain countries, entrenched in ideological prejudice and driven by political manipulation, choose to turn a blind eye to China's progress in socioeconomic development and human rights protection. Instead, they take things out of context, maliciously slander China's ethnic policies, and fabricate and spread misinformation. With such gross interference in China's internal affairs, they attempt to undermine ethnic unity in China. We firmly reject these acts, Guo said. 

Guo stressed that China is a multi-ethnic country where various ethnic groups are all equal and united in a harmonious relationship of mutual assistance. Strengthening the rule of law is conducive to better protecting the legitimate rights and interests of all ethnic groups and enhancing ethnic unity. 

Guo added that the Chinese government attaches high importance to preserving ethnic minority cultures, and lawfully safeguards the right of all ethnic groups to use and develop their own spoken and written languages. Our practices and achievements in this area have been widely recognized by the international community.

Global Times