Allegations of the so-called “demographic genocide” in Xinjiang by some Western politicians are groundless, and aim to generate hatred among ethnic groups and destabilize the region.
The definition of genocide as contained in Article II of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide codified by the United Nations General Assembly is to destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group by killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Official population figures stand as concrete evidence against the wild accusations of mass killings in Xinjiang. From 2010 to 2018, Xinjiang's permanent population increased by 3.05 million, or 13.99 percent, to reach 24.87 million. In that period, the Uyghur population increased by 2.55 million, or 25.04 percent, to 12.72 million, while the population of the Han ethnic group in the region increased by 176,900, or 2.0 percent, to reach 9 million, according to a report by the Xinjiang Development Research Agency.
Physical destruction in the region doesn’t exist either. With the concerted efforts of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, the region is socially stable, economy gaining momentum and people live in contentment. For four consecutive years, there have been no terrorist cases in Xinjiang and the number of criminal cases, public security and safety cases largely declined. From 2014 to 2019, the GDP of Xinjiang increased from 919.59 billion yuan ($142.41 billion) to 1.36 trillion yuan with an annual GDP growth rate of 7.2 percent and annual GDP per capita growth rate of 9.1 percent.
Concerning the living conditions in Xinjiang, the autonomous region has lifted a total of 3.089 million people out of poverty, with 3,666 impoverished villages and 32 poverty-stricken counties removed from the poverty list. The issue of absolute poverty in Xinjiang has been radically resolved. In the meantime, the social security system has been enhanced gradually and all citizens can get free medical checks. Basic healthcare covers 99.7 percent of local residents.
The accusation that China imposes forced abortions or sterilizations on Uyghurs is even more malicious. Local officials in Xinjiang have reaffirmed the fact that birth control measures are up to the public to decide. This applies to people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. No groups or individuals have the right to interfere.
Ethnic minorities in Xinjiang have also been granted full protection in their rights to education, religion and other political rights in terms of state policy. All of this refutes rumors of demographic genocide.
The Chinese government has a favorable policy to ethnic minorities to guarantee their right to education. According to statistics from the local education bureau, Xinjiang students enrolled in all types of schools in 2019 totaled 6.41 million, including 4.79 million members of ethnic minorities. In 2019, higher education institutions in the region recruited about 144,900 students, with 58.07 percent of them, or 84,100, from ethnic minorities. Students enrolled in higher education institutions in the region stood at 427,000, with 249,000 of them from ethnic minorities, accounting for 58.32 percent.
The legal rights of ethnic minorities to religious beliefs is not only fully protected and enhanced, but also supported at the state level. Xinjiang now has 24,400 mosques, up 10-fold compared to 40 years ago. To guarantee the religious demands of Muslims, the local government has chartered flights to send believers to go on the Haji to Mecca in Saudi Arabia since 1996, with over 50,000 believers taking the pilgrimage so far.
People’s political rights are also brought into full play with people from all ethnic groups having equal access to participate in state affairs and local management. From 1949 to 1955 when the autonomous region was established, the number of officials from ethnic minorities increased from over 3,000 to 46,000. Till 2018, the number of cadres from ethnic minorities in enterprises and public institutions reached 428,000, accounting for 50.3 percent of all cadres in Xinjiang.
Maxime Vivas, a French writer and journalist, wrote a book titled Ouïghours, pour en finir avec les fake news (Uygurs, to put an end to the fake news) based on his two visits to the autonomous region in 2016 and 2018. “In this book, I want to demonstrate that the Uyghur ‘genocide’ claim is a lie. I revealed the individuals who are the enthusiasts of the lies and their links with the CIA,” said Vivas in a recent interview.
He added that in France, among elected officials, writers or journalists who speak about Xinjiang, none of them has gone there. Everyone else who speaks or writes about Xinjiang is just repeating what people like Adrian Zenz and CIA-paid NGOs said.
Talking about genocide, the US should ask itself how many American Indians still reside in the country. Fabricating a genocide accusation reflects how some Western politicians have gone mad. Their bullying in the international community goes against the basic norms of international laws and relations and is doomed to meet a dead end.
The Chinese government has always committed itself to defending China's sovereignty, security and development interests, combating terrorism and extremism, and safeguarding justice and civilization which ultimately serve the interests of the people and the prosperity of Xinjiang.
The improving living conditions of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang and how their rights are protected mirror the all-around development and progress of the policy of the Chinese government. Genocide accusations will never hinder the stability and prosperity of the autonomous region.