Photo taken on August 30, 2021 shows the 53rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues in Beijing. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Li Rui

Xu Guixiang: Good morning, dear media friends! Welcome to the Press Conference of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) on Xinjiang Related Issues. I’m Xu Guixiang, the spokesman of the Government of XUAR.

First of all, I would like to introduce the participants from Xinjiang in today’s press conference. Mr. Elijan Anayat, spokesman of the Government of XUAR. Mr. Mahmut Abduwali, an expert on historical studies from the Institute of History of Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, and Ms. Ramina Shawkat, an expert on human rights from Xinjiang University. They are two well-known Uygur experts and scholars.

Photo taken on August 30, 2021 shows Xu Guixiang, spokesman of People’s Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region answers questions at the 53rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues in Beijing. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Li Rui

Facing the disasters suffered by the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang in the past and despite the just act of combating terrorism in Xinjiang, some western countries choose not to give sympathy and support, instead, they do everything possible to accuse and censure. In particular, some British politicians have been taking negative actions recently and have frequently launched provocations. On July 19, 2020, VOA reported that British Foreign Secretary Raab falsely accused Xinjiang of violating the human rights of ethnic minorities including “forced sterilization”. On September 25, Reuters reported that Tariq Ahmad, British Secretary of State for Commonwealth and overseas territory affairs, in charge of human rights and UN affairs, said in a speech at the UN Human Rights Council that “Xinjiang has detained up to 1.8 million people without trial.” On April 22,2021, The UK House of Commons passed a motion claiming that the Uygurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang are suffering from “crimes against humanity” and “genocide”. In July, the Foreign Affairs Committee of UK House of Commons issued a Xinjiang related report entitled No Repetition--Britain's Responsibility for Atrocities in Xinjiang and Other Regions, which wantonly fabricated and spread rumors related to Xinjiang. What is Britain’s intention with its constant negative actions on Xinjiang related issues?

It must be pointed out that the British accusation against Xinjiang is contrary to the facts and extremely absurd. It is entirely a disgusting political manipulation. The fact of the stable development of Xinjiang has long embarrassed them. When the “three forces” brought disaster and chaos to Xinjiang, Britain and other Western anti-China forces were celebrating on it and secretly pleased with it, because the evil done by the “three forces” in Xinjiang was what they have been yearning for. Now, the overall social situation in Xinjiang is harmonious and stable, people are enjoying stable and peaceful life, the soil of terrorism and extremism has been effectively eradicated, and the high frequency of violent terrorist activities is gone forever! Under such circumstances, some British politicians feel helpless, powerless and futile, so they lose their reason and madly fabricate lies and put the most vicious tag on Xinjiang. It is absolutely absurd and shameful!

To the disappointment of those British politicians, the rumors they spread can not tarnish the beautiful image of Xinjiang, the sanctions they implement can not stop the progress of Xinjiang, the tricks they play can not deceive the world, and their painstaking operation is completely against the historical trend and is doomed to be futile. Take a look at the good situation of stable development in Xinjiang, every one can understand what are the lies and what is the truth. They said that Xinjiang “suppressed ethnic minorities”. In fact, Xinjiang has curbed the trend of frequent violent and terrorist activities in the past years. There have been no violent and terrorist cases for more than four consecutive years, and the overall social situation is very stable. They said that Xinjiang “has set up concentration camps and detained more than 1 million people”. In fact, most of the graduates of the vocational education and training centers have achieved stable employment and lived a happy life. They said that Xinjiang “persecuted ethnic minorities”, but in fact, the lives of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have continued to improve and the overall social situation is good. Today, infants can get nursing, children have access to schooling, workers get paid from their work with contentment, patients can get proper medical treatment, the old people have no worries about subsistence, and people enjoy comfortable housing. They say that there is a confrontation between Han people and ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, but in fact, ethnic relationship in Xinjiang is harmonious, and the masses of all ethnic groups hold together like pomegranate seeds with extensive, comprehensive and in-depth exchanges among the masses of all ethnic groups. They said that Xinjiang “infringes on the freedom of religious belief”, but in fact, The religious field is imbued with friendly and harmonious atmosphere, the freedom of religious belief is fully guaranteed, and all religions are inherited in a healthy and orderly manner. They said that Xinjiang “eliminated the culture of ethnic minorities”, but in fact, the cultures of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are prospering in the embrace of Chinese culture, blooming with the glory of the new era. They said that there was “forced labor” in Xinjiang, but in fact, the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are all relying on their hard work to create a good future. They have tried various means and successfully got employment to get satisfactory income. They said that Xinjiang “violated human rights”, but in fact, Xinjiang have protected the political, economic, cultural and other basic rights of the people of all ethnic groups in accordance with the law, and human rights protection is improving continuously. They said that Xinjiang has carried out “genocide”, but in fact, the population of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, including Uygurs, has maintained a steady growing trend over the past decade. Excuse me, those British politicians, have you ever been to Xinjiang? Do you know the actual situation in Xinjiang? How come you have such confidence to say that?

In fact, it is Britain that really deserves the titles of “genocide”, “human rights violations” and “forced labor”. All people with a sense of justice will be shocked and angry at the thought of the disasters Britain has caused in many countries in the world when they look at the history and reality of Britain, when they have learned the tragedy of “sheep eating people” brought by the “enclosure movement”, and when they have heard the complaints of blood and tears from trafficked slaves. Britain has committed numerous crimes in human history. It is absurd that such a country still acts as a “human rights teacher”.

Today’s press conference on Xinjiang related issues is to uncover Britain’s decadent history and dark reality in the field of human rights, and see what kind of farce is staged behind the veil of “human rights teacher”, what kind of face is covered, and what kind of evil intention is hidden.

Xu Guixiang: Some British anti-China forces falsely accused Xinjiang of “genocide”. However, in the process of colonial expansion, Britain brutally slaughtered the colonial aborigines, leading to the extinction of some ethnic groups. Now Mr. Mahmut Abduwali, an expert on historical studies from the Institute of History of Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences will share his views on this issue.

Photo taken on August 30, 2021 shows Mahmut Abduwali speaks at the 53rd Press conference on Xinjiang-related Issues in Beijing. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Li Rui

Mahmut Abduwali: Britain attached the tag of so-called “genocide” to Xinjiang and accused Xinjiang of “genocide”. But in fact, Britain has committed massacres in many parts of the world in hundreds of years of colonial history, and caused countless genocidal disasters.

The extinction of Australian Tasmanians. In 1803, when the British colonists set foot on Australia, they found the aboriginal Tasmanians. The colonists did not treat them as human beings. They plundered Tasmanians’ hunting area, cut off their food sources, attacked women and killed men. Tasmanians tried to resist, but failed before the colonists’ advantageous weapons and manpower. In 1835, the only 200 Tasmanian survivors were transferred to Flinders Island. But diseases and failure to adapt to the foreign environment killed these people very soon. By 1869, the last man of pure Tasmanian blood died. In 1876, the last Tasmanian woman was brutally murdered, and the genocide finally came to an end. The extant are of mixed descent. The German writer George Gran once described the demise of Tasmanians: “the colonists hunted Tasmanians regularly like hunting wild animals. Tasmanians perished not before the fall of civilization, but after the arrival of cruel and barbaric whites.”

The New Zealand Maori who were brutally plundered. In order to seize the land of New Zealand islands, under coercion and inducement of Britain, the indigenous Maori signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Through the treaty, Britain seized a large area of Maori’s land. In order to protect their homeland, Maori carried out the “Maori war” against British colonists for 30 years. During the fighting, countless Maori tribes were destroyed and tens of millions of Maori soldiers died. The Maori survivors entered the mountains and jungles to fight the British in the form of guerrilla warfare. From 1867, the British colonial authorities passed The Aboriginal School Education Act in New Zealand and forced Maori children to “switch languages” in school. By the early 1870s, under the cruel repression of Britain, the Maori finally failed in the war against Britain, and the Maori population was sharply reduced by more than half because of the war. In the overwhelming “English world”, Maori gradually lost their native language and culture.

The Mau Mau in Kenya who were brutally persecuted. The British government has exposed the top secret documents of the British Empire, including the secret details about the 50 years of suppression implemented by Britain over anti-colonial organizations in Kenya concealed by British Foreign Office. According to records, in October 1952, as many as 150,000 Maomao members were arrested by the colonial authorities. After independence of Kenya, the Kenyan National Human Rights Commission determined that at least 12,000 people died during the colonial authorities’ suppression over the uprising Maomao, and nearly 80,000 people were persecuted to varying extent and subjected to inhuman torture such as beatings, castration and sexual abuse, resulting in the death of many prisoners. However, the British government covered up these abuses on the grounds of national security. Five Kenyans who had been persecuted had sued the British government in January 2011, asking the British government to apologize and compensate, but so far there has been no result.

North American Indians who were ruthlessly killed. In the early 17th century, when the British colonists first came to the North American continent, they had no food and almost fell into a desperate situation. At first, the local Indians did not harbor malice towards them, but treated them with courtesy, fed them with corn and taught them to grow this grain. However, as soon as the British colonists had a firm foothold, they showed their ferocity, forcibly occupied the Indian hunting area and farmland, and shot the Indians. When the British colonists killed a “hostile” Indian, they stripped off the whole skin of his head and sent it to the colonial authorities for a cash reward. The bounty is divided into several levels according to the sex and age of the Indians killed. Britain has committed countless heinous crimes against Indians.

Indians who were slaughtered wantonly. Britain has controlled India through the East India Company since the 17th century, and India did not gain independence until 1947. When Britain colonized India, it not only robbed India of its wealth and sucked the blood of the Indian people by various bandit means, but also brutally slaughtered Indians. On February 6, 1919, the British and Indian Legislative Assembly passed Rowlett Acts. The act stipulates that the police can arbitrarily arrest any person suspected by the authorities and the suspected can be imprisoned for a long time without public trial. The act was opposed by the Indian people. On April 13, 1919, British troops stationed in India opened fire on nearly 10,000 unarmed Indian demonstrators, resulting in the “Amritsar Massacre”. British colonial data show that 379 people were killed and 1200 injured. Instead of deterring the mass movement, the massacre aroused more fierce resistance among the Indian people. The pain of the “Amritsar Massacre” is still haunting Indians, while Britain has always “felt deeply regretted”, but never made a formal apology to India.

The crimes committed by Britain against the Chinese people in history cannot be forgotten. In 1840, Britain launched the Opium War and invaded China. In 1842, the Qing government was forced to sign the humiliating Nanjing Treaty, After the Opium War, China gradually became a semi colonial and semi feudal country. With their strong ships and guns, the Western powers, including Britain, carried out military aggression, political control, economic plunder and cultural infiltration against China, which brought severe disasters to the Chinese nation and Chinese people and seriously damaged China’s socioeconomic development. Looking back on history, we understand well that countries like Britain have no qualification to talk about human nor do they have any qualification to lecture on Xinjiang China.

Xu Guixiang: Now let’s watch a video clip.

Xu Guixiang: Some British anti-China forces falsely claim that there is “forced labor” in Xinjiang and encourage unreasonable sanctions against relevant enterprises in Xinjiang. However, many British workers have tragic experiences and Britain is truly a “forced labor” country.

First, let’s watch a documentary about British history.

The problem of forced labor in Britain has a long history. For more than 300 years after the 16th century, Britain sold African slaves on a large scale and forced them to work. This is the darkest and most shameful criminal activity in human history. It is a dirty activity called “trafficking in human flesh and blood” by Marx. In 1605, Britain established the first colony Barbados in the Caribbean, which urgently needed a large number of labor. Under this background, the slave trade and forced labor developed rapidly. According to statistics, from 1700 to 1820s, British slave traders sold more than 3 million black slaves from Africa, ranking first among the European countries engaged in overseas colony at that time. Most of the slaves were transported to the British colonies and were forced to toil and moil in local plantations and factories. The environment of the plantation is horrible. Malaria, yellow fever and mosquito bites have killed many people. The manor owner was very stern with the slaves. Except for eating, sleeping and toilet time, the slaves toiled in picking cotton, sucrose and other hard work. The African slaves ate bad food and had very bad nutrition. They could only maintain basic physical strength, but they overdrew their poor physical strength day after day. According to statistics, the average life expectancy of black slaves in this period was only about 29 years.

At the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, in the enclosure movement of “sheep eating people”, countless farmers were homeless and wandering around. Queen Elizabeth I, who was then in power, promulgated the Poor Law in 1601 to establish a “Poor House” where those who had the ability to work were given flax, wool, raw silk and other raw materials and were forced to work. The decree clearly stipulated that the remuneration of workers working in the “Poor House” shall not be higher than that of ordinary workers outside the “Poor House”. These newly-built “Poor House” were surrounded by thick and strong high walls. There was a rectangular square in the yard. At the center of the square were four three-story buildings and crossing each other used for residences. The four buildings just divided the yard into four separated areas, and the architectural pattern was almost same as that of a real prison. In these “Poor Houses”, acts of distorting human nature and corrupting morality occurred every day. One of the most famous scandals was the Andover Incident in 1845. McDougal, President of the “Poor House” in Andover Town, forced the poor people in the “Poor House” to complete a great workload. If they failed, they would be deducted from their scarce food or whipped. He also sexually assaulted the female poor on the grounds of failure to complete workload. As a result, the hungry poor eating rotten meat on the bones has become a common phenomenon, and the poor people even fought for these rotten meat. Many poor people would rather starve to death than be forced to work in the notorious “Poor House”. Although the “Poor House” sounds like a charity, it was not a place where the poor could get help and alms. As is depicted in Dickens’s famous work “Oliver Twist”, Oliver, the protagonist in the book, grows up in the “Poor House” and has experienced various hardships, such as starvation, slavery and oppression, forced labor and so on.

In the early 19th century, Britain took the lead in completing the industrial revolution, and mining, iron smelting, manufacturing and other related industries developed rapidly. But with it a serious shortage of labor happened in these fields. The hard working environment and low wages made workers reluctant to engage in these industries. In this context, the British government made mandatory legislation on the labor market and introduced The Law of Master and Servant in 1823. The law allowed employers and workers to sign a compulsory contract similar to “selling workers as slaves”, but at the same time, it expanded the employer’s power to take criminal proceedings against employees’ breach of contract and the applicable industrial scope. For example, the law allowed employers to sue employees for breach of contract, and the court would convict up to three months of hard labor imprisonment.

History is the root of reality. The “gene” of forced labor in history has been inherited to Britain in the 21st century. In 2015, the Guardian reported that more than 3000 child slaves were forced to work in Britain’s underground marijuana planting industry. These child workers were chained together and only fed on leftovers and dog food. According to the report entitled Types of Modern Slavery In The UK released by British Home office in 2017, “modern slavery” covers human trafficking, sexual slavery, forced labor and other exploitative acts. The Center for Social Justice, a British think tank dedicated to the rights and interests of vulnerable groups in the UK, said that at present, there are at least 100,000 potential victims of “modern slavery” in the UK, and the real number is higher than it. In 2019, the Sun in Britain reported that there were 136,000 domestic slaves in Britain who were abducted and trafficked to Britain by human traffickers and forced to engage in some heavy manual work. The salary was pitifully low and they were often in arrears, which was ignored by the British government. In 2019, the BBC reported that 8 criminal suspects, with good remuneration and free housing as bait, cajoled more than 400 tramps, former prisoners and alcoholics from Poland to work in Britain. After the victims were sent to Britain, they were forced to engage in hard labor with little pay. They were crowded in small and dirty houses and lived in darkness. One victim said he was forced to work more than ten hours a day for more than three weeks, but only received a total of 10 pounds (about 89 yuan). The British CPS said in a statement that this is “the largest modern slavery case in Britain”. Over several years in the past, there might be as many as 400 victims. In 2020, Reuters reported that 10613 victims of “modern slavery” in Britain sought help from British Home office. Many victims came from EU countries such as Lithuania, Poland and Romania and might be exploited in farms, factories, construction sites and sex transactions. From this point of view, Britain is the right country to take the tag of forced labor.

Xu Guixiang: Some anti china forces in Britain have falsely accused Xinjiang of “persecuting Muslims”. However, discrimination against Muslims in Britain is widespread and intolerance against Muslims is prominent. Now let’s invite Ms. Ramina Shawkat, an expert on human rights from Xinjiang University, to share her views on this issue.

Photo taken on August 30, 2021 shows Ramina Shawkat speaks at the 53rd Press conference on Xinjiang-related Issues in Beijing. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Li Rui

Ramina Shawkat: In Britain, with the Muslim population getting younger and the aging of British whites, the Muslim population shows a continuous growing trend. Accordingly, the "Islamophobia" in Britain is becoming increasingly intense, and the anti-Muslim sentiment is rising day by day. It is common for Muslims to suffer discrimination. Their basic political, economic, cultural rights and social rights are difficult to be guaranteed.

British Muslims are subjected to great hatred. Many British dignitaries themselves are descendants of Muslims, but they continue to make anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim remarks, openly questioning the loyalty and love of British Muslims to British society, and even saying that Islam is a big trouble. Although the proportion of Muslims in the British population is not high, they still become the most vulnerable group to hatred. For example, according to the statistics of Tell Mama UK, which focuses on attacks against Muslims, in January 2014, the organization recorded only 112 incidents of abusing Muslims, but by August, the number of incidents had surged to 219. For example, the population in Thurrock, Essex, UK is 158,000, of which Muslims account for only about 2%. However, from April 2015 to September 2017, the proportion of hatred crimes against Muslims in Thurrock was the highest, reaching 62.5%. The Guardian reported that hatred against Muslims in the UK increased by 26% in 2017. Experts attributed it to the growth of right-wing political forces and the stimulation of terrorist attacks. On May 25, 2021, Swaran Singh, the former Commissioner for equality and human rights, wrote an independent report saying that anti-Muslim sentiment is still a problem in the party according to the extent of the Conservative Party’s own discovery about complaints and misconduct related to anti-Muslim words and deeds. According to AND, the British Islamic Association said that several incidents of racial discrimination had occurred after the referendum in Britain, including graffiti on the wall of Poland Center, demonstrations outside the mosque in Birmingham shouting “go home” to Muslims.

We can’t help asking why those Muslims who have long been living in Britain have been subjected to such hatred? Britain should seriously face up to these problems and solve them. Britain should stop wasting its efforts and concern on the so-called “persecution of Muslims” in Xinjiang.

Xu Guixiang: Some anti-china forces in Britain have falsely accused Xinjiang of “oppressing ethnic minorities”. however, in Britain, the concept of white supremacy is prevalent, racism is deeply rooted, and the rights of ethnic minorities have not been reasonably guaranteed for a long time. Now I would like to invite Mr. Elijan Anayat, spokesman of the Government of XUAR, to share his views on this issue.

Photo taken on August 30, 2021 shows Elijan Anayat, spokesman of People’s Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region answers questions at the 53rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues in Beijing. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Li Rui

Elijan Anayat: Britain claims to be an advanced democratic country and emphasizes racial harmony and mutual respect. However, the fact is that ethnic minorities such as people of African and Asian origin are subjected to racial discrimination, violence or harassment everywhere in Britain. The colonialism and slave trade in history are the causes of racial discrimination in Britain.

Racial discrimination in Britain is not only lasting, but also has spread across all fields and strata of British society. The latest study by the Institute of Public Policy in Britain found that 7% of people in Britain face financial difficulties, while among non white groups, the proportion is as high as 12% to 18%. However, a report released by Britain in March this year claimed that there was no sufficient evidence of systematic and institutional racial discrimination in Britain. On the issue of racial equality in education and employment, Britain should be regarded as “a model for the countries with whites as majority”. This statement aroused strong protests from British ethnic minorities and widespread doubts from all walks of life. The UN expert on human rights issued a statement strongly condemning the distortion and fabrication of facts in the British report and the defence of “white supremacy” with the cliché of beautifying the racial hierarchy.

Discrimination against African British is everywhere in British society. In Britain, the persistent unfair treatment to people of African descent in the fields including health care, education, employment, housing, law enforcement and criminal justice is deeply rooted. Black children in Britain are far less likely to go to school than white children, and blacks are four times more likely to be arrested than whites. In addition, according to the statistics of the UK Home Office, from 2017 to 2018, blacks were 9.5 times more likely to be subjected to interrogation and body search in the streets than whites. Black suspects are four times more likely to be dealt with by the police than whites.

Under the impact of the epidemic, ethnic minorities in Britain not only have more difficulties in daily life, but also face greater threats to their rights to life and health. A report published in the international medical journal The Lancet shows that ethnic minorities in Britain are at greater risk of infection and death than whites in this epidemic. A report released by the public health department of England in June pointed out that the COVID-19 death rate of Bangladeshi origin in Britain is twice that of whites, while the death rates of other Asian, Caribbean and African origin are 10% to 50% higher than whites respectively. During the period of COVID-19, blacks were over 2 times more likely to be fined for breaches of epidemic prevention regulations than whites.

Xu Guixiang: Some British anti-China forces falsely claimed that there is “anti-terrorism expansion” in Xinjiang. However, in the name of anti-terrorism, Britain wantonly launched war to invade sovereign countries and committed numerous crimes. Now let’s invite Mr. Mahmut Abduwali, an expert on historical studies from the Institute of History of Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, to share his views on this issue.

Mahmut Abduwali: Terrorism is the common enemy of human society. In recent years, by means of violence, destruction and intimidation, terrorism has wantonly trampled on human rights, killed innocent lives, endangered public security, created social panic, seriously threatened world peace and tranquility and brought serious disasters to mankind. Combating terrorism is the responsibility of every country.

But for a long time, Britain has waged war recklessly in the name of counter-terrorism, which has brought disasters to many countries and people. A large amount of evidence shows that in 2003, British forces arrested thousands of Iraqi civilians in the southern Iraqi city Basra and tortured some of them, resulting in the death of many innocent civilians. British special forces have repeatedly attacked villages and slaughtered villagers in the name of anti-terrorism in Afghanistan, posing as “anti-terrorism achievements”. There are more than 3400 allegations of war crimes, most of which have not been investigated. In 2014, the British army tried to investigate more than 600 cases of suspected violations of discipline and law by British soldiers on the battlefield in Afghanistan. However, British media later reported that with the the investigation going further, more and more abominable cases were disclosed. The senior military officials were worried that the truth would “endanger national security and public trust” and decided to greatly reduce the scale of the investigation and minimize the cases.

More Incredibly, in order to give more legal protection to the British army, the British Parliament passed a so-called “Overseas Action Bill” in November 2020, which stipulates that British soldiers are exempted from criminal charges when on duty. The bill also requires the British government to consider abandoning the European Convention on human rights to ensure that British forces are not subject to the Convention when accused of participating in any illegal act. Russia Today reported that “it does not need any legal knowledge to understand how much freedom this gives the British army”.

Although civilians in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries have suffered from “anti-terrorism action”, so called by Britain, the perpetrators are sheltered by the government and are still at large. This “double standard” which tramples on human rights and ignores the law and is pursued by Britain has incurred strong questioning and denouncement from Britain and other questions and has also made the world see its hypocrisy more clearly.

Xu Guixiang: Some British anti-China forces falsely claimed that Xinjiang violated women’s human rights. However, the problem of violence and discrimination against British women, children and the elderly was shocking. They have suffered inhuman treatment. Now let’s invite Ms. Ramina Shawkat, an expert on human rights from Xinjiang University, to share her views in this issue.

Ramina Shawkat: The rights of women, children and the elderly have always been the focus of the international community, and should also be the focus of a responsible country. However, in Britain, the dignity of women, children and the elderly has been seriously violated.

The rights of British women have been seriously violated. British women have suffered serious discrimination on many occasions. Some women have been insulted and attacked because of their gender. The research team at the University of London collected data from nearly 3000 British women and pointed out that on average, one in five women had experienced gender discrimination. They generally felt uneasy about the environment and were forced to avoid some places. Many women have suffered from gender discrimination at work. In the case of doing the same work, women’s salary is 38% lower than that of men, and the problem of different pay for equal work is prominent in terms of gender. Many pregnant women in Britain are forced to leave their jobs because of discrimination from workplace, which is proved by the survey report issued by the British Office of Commerce, Innovation and Skills and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The report shows that 11% of the pregnant women surveyed said they were forced to leave or dismissed by their employers because of discrimination in the workplace. In 2016, the number of pregnant women forced to leave reached 54,000, almost doubling compared with 30,000 in 2005.

A large number of minors suffer from hunger. According to Daily Mirror on December 9, 2020, from March to September, about 16% of British families suffered from food shortage, and their children were in difficult position, couldn’t get enough food or went hungry all day long. According to the report of SMF, about 1.9 million British children fell into food shortage due to the economic turmoil that year. The areas seriously hit by food shortage were London, Devon and Lancashire. The report also shows that the utilization rate of the British food bank in that year increased from 8% in previous years to 11%, but the proportion of free school meals distributed by schools decreased from 22% to 20%. Moreover, the British government has not released specific data on hungry children. On December 16, 2020, the Guardian reported that since the outbreak of Covid-19, the number of British families struggling to maintain their livelihood and get food has been increasing due to the economic downturn and the sharp rise in unemployment. A survey in May 2020 found that 2.4 million children in the UK live in families without food security. By October 2020, more than 900,000 children had registered for free school meals.

A considerable part of the elderly live in dire straits. A survey by King’s College London and the National Centre for Social Studies shows that more than 700,000 elderly people in Britain have been abused at home or in nursing homes. The survey was conducted for nearly two years and funded by British charities and the Ministry of Health. This is the first time in Britain to investigate the situation of abused elderly people at home. The website of the British Daily Telegraph reported that a report to be released soon will disclose a large number of behaviors involving ignoring, abusing and hurting the self-esteem of the elderly. The British Elderly Care Association disclosed that the forms of abuse include intimidation, neglect, nursing workers’ theft and manipulation intended to change the wills of the elderly. Elderly people with dementia and stroke are particularly vulnerable to abuse. According to the report of The Sun released on September 29, 2019, a British nurse forcibly grabbed the ankle of a 101 year old man and dragged him out of bed, causing his legs to break and complications to happen, and finally resulting to the unfortunate death of the old man. Most astoundingly, the “herd immunity” policy implemented in Britain against COVID-19 has become the last straw to crush the elderly. In the UK, there are about 11,000 nursing homes, and 430,000 old people in the whole UK live in nursing homes. Due to the lack of medical resources and inadequate protective measures, the infection of COVID-19 is serious among the elderly who are high-risk groups. British media reported that many British nursing homes and clinics issued “giving up first aid consent” to patients who are required to promise that if they are infected with COVID-19, they will not call an ambulance when their condition worsens, and the patients who receive the consent form are all the elderly and the weak. An old man who received the consent said that the consent was like sentencing himself to death. According to the data in April 2020, 521 old people died of COVID-19 in the two largest nursing homes. We can imagine the number of COVID-19 death cases across Britain. Since then, the regulatory authorities of nursing homes have not published the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes on the grounds of protecting their commercial interests. The British government’s inaction in the face of the epidemic is actually putting the elderly in a situation where they can not get any care. What an act of contempt for human rights and dehumanization.

Xu Guixiang: As a public media funded by the government, the BBC claims to uphold journalistic professionalism. However, on the issue of Xinjiang, it has created a large number of false news to confuse the public and attack China’s policy of governing Xinjiang.

Now let’s watch a video clip.

As the most important news media in Britain, the BBC has repeatedly produced and broadcast false news with strong ideological bias, wantonly spreading rumors, lying, and releasing poisonous and aggressive reports on Xinjiang related issues. The BBC has seriously deviated from the objective, balanced and fair position that the news media should uphold, and incurred resolute opposition from the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

For example, the BBC revealed the so-called “experience” of Tu’ersunai Qiyawudun, a female graduate of vocational education and training center, and published a report saying that “women in detention camps in Xinjiang are subjected to systematic rape, sexual abuse and torture”, which is completely contrary to the fact. In fact, the vocational education and training center strictly implements the provisions of China’s constitution and laws, fully guarantees that the basic rights of trainees are not infringed, and the case of “sexual assault and torture” has never existed. Tu’ersunai Qiyawudun mentioned by the BBC, whose real name is Tu’ersunnayi Ziyaodeng, is willing to be a “pawn” and “actress” of anti-China forces in order to defraud refugee status. She has shamefully fabricated her so-called “pitiful experience” in the vocational education and training center many times, but these lies have been laid bare by the facts again and again. This time, she made up a story that she had been “tortured and raped” in the vocational education and training center, which was even more ridiculous.

For example, the BBC NEWSNIGHT interviewed the Uygur woman Zaomure Dawuti, who claimed that she had been detained in the so-called “reeducation camp” and subjected to “forced sterilization”. In fact, Zaomure Dawuti has never studied in the vocational education and training center, and her fifth brother Abuduheili Dawuti has previously clarified it in an interview with the media. In March 2013, when Zaomure Dawuti gave birth to his third child in the Maternity Hospital Affiliated to Urumqi Maternal and Child Health Hospital, she signed the voluntary consent for delivery, which indicated that she agreed to cesarean section and ligation. Then she underwent cesarean section and ligation in the hospital, but she was not sterilized at all, let alone removed the uterus.

For example, the BBC released a video claiming that Xinjiang Pomegranate Seed Clothing Co., Ltd. has so-called “forced labor”, the Chinese government “hinders shooting”, and wantonly exaggerating that the journalist “was constantly followed by vehicles driven by a large number of unidentified people”. After a field visit by the Global Times, it was verified that nothing in the video was in line with the facts. The workers of pomegranate seed Clothing Co., Ltd. have voluntarily applied to work in the company and signed labor contracts with the enterprise, and their rights such as labor remuneration, rest and vacation are protected in accordance with the law. Instead, the BBC deliberately racketeer to create the illusion that the Chinese government “interfered” with the shooting of reporters.

For example, without investigation and verification, the BBC followed the false trend and quoted the so-called “Research Report” related to Xinjiang by the pseudo scholar Zheng Guo’en (Adrian Zenz), producing and broadcasting fake news, and made carping comments on China’s policies of governing Xinjiang. The BBC has become a platform for Zheng Guo’en(Adrian Zenz) to spread his lies and fallacies related to Xinjiang. In fact, Zheng Guo’en(Adrian Zenz) is completely an anti-China figure and academic liar. His so-called “Research Report” is full of lies, fallacies and absurd logic and has no academic value at all.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of the BBC false news reports. The BBC’s despicable acts are not only disgusted by the Chinese people, but also shamed by the British people and the media. The new book entitled The Fake News Factory: Tales from BBC-land and published by British scholar David Sedgwick believes that the BBC is actually a stubborn political campaign group, which obviously violates the requirements of the Royal Charter for its impartiality and political neutrality. The British media The Daily Express also published an article entitled The Failure of the BBC, which mentions that the British poll has found that almost half of people believe that the BBC has been unfair in news reporting in recent years.

Here, we hope that the BBC and relevant media will adhere to an objective and fair position, instead of reporting Xinjiang related issues with political prejudice and tinted glasses. Otherwise, such reporting would be worthless.

That’s all for today’s press conference. Your participation is highly appreciated. Thank you all!