The 73rd Press Conference on Xinjiang -related Issues by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

(May 13, 2022, Urumqi )

Photo taken on May 13, 2022 shows the 73rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in Urumqi. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Zhou Peng

Xu Guixiang: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen。 Welcome to today's press conference on Xinjiang-related issues. I am Xu Guixiang, spokesman of the People's Government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. This is Mr. Elijan Anayat, who is also a spokesman of the People's Government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Also, eight experts and scholars are attending today’s press conference, and they are: Akbar Niyaz, associate professorof the School of History of Xinjiang University, Eldos Murat, vice chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Chahan Qizir, vice president of Xinjiang University, Kaysar Abdukerem, president of Xinjiang Medical University, Guo Bei, researcher of the Law Institute of Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, and director of Urumqi Lawyers Association, Anwar Abla, director of Xinjiang Jasur Law Firm, Liu Weidong, researcher of American Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Cao Wei, associate professor of School of Politics and International Relations of Lanzhou University. Among them, Mr. Liu and Cao will join us on line. Today's press conference is mainly about their perspectives on the human rights situation in the United States.

In recent years, the United States has been extremely concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, China. It mobilized all forces, hired all kinds of writers, and used all kinds of means to fabricate all kinds of false accusations, in an effort to pin the human rights violation label on Xinjiang. The United States recently released the "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices", which is a mere repetition of old rhetoric, making irresponsible remarks and unreasonable judgments on the human rights situation in 198 countries and regions around the world. The United States assumes that it represents the standard of ultimate justice and morality, and arrogantly accuses and criticizes other countries' human rights, as if it were the "global judge and referee" of human rights. But what is the truth? Today, we will take a look at what kind of example the United States has set for the world by examining its human rights with the standards it uses.

Photo taken on May 13, 2022 shows Xu Guixiang, spokesman of People’s Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region speaks and answers questions at the 73rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues by XUAR in Urumqi. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Zhou Peng

The United States makes political lies. Pompeo, the former U.S. Secretary of State, once openly declared that “We lied, we cheated, we stole…. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment". In order to launch war to invade the territories of other countries and impose sanctions on their domestic industries, the United States can steal, cheat and lie. It has done all kinds of evil things, and it feels glorified instead of ashamed of such deeds.

The United States destroys the order of the world. As the only country in the world that has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Children, the United States has also refused to ratify the Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The United States will join international treaties and organizations when it sees benefits, and withdraw from it when it believes that its own hegemony is affected.

The United States condones violence. Just in 2021 alone, at least 1,124 Americans died in the atrocities of the police. The cry of "I can't breathe" of people like George Floyd is excruciatingly painful. The judiciary openly provides shield for police atrocities, and people's safety could not be effectively guaranteed.

Photo taken on May 13, 2022 shows Elijan Anayat, spokesman of People’s Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region speaks and answers questions at the 73rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues by XUAR in Urumqi. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Zhou Peng

The United States infringes workers' rights and interests. The legacy of forced labor is deeply rooted in the United States. Large numbers of immigrants are forced to become new "slaves" and are forced to engage in low paying and high-risk jobs under harsh conditions.

The United States fails in Covid-19 prevention and control. In the United States, more than 1 million people have died from the Covid-19. As a result, more than 30% of Americans have lost their relatives and friends, and more than 200,000 children have become orphans. However, the U.S. government is bent on shirking responsibilities by scapegoating others.

The United States commits genocide. Some American politicians openly advocate white supremacy, Asian Americans are regarded as "forever foreigners", Muslims are deeply hurt by "Islamophobia", and native Americans suffer from long-term systematic racial persecution.

The United States exports human rights disasters. In the 240-year history since its founding, the United States has not fought a war for only 16 years. A series of wars resulted in the death of a large number of innocent civilians around the world, and countless cities were destroyed by gunfire. The crimes committed by the U.S. military are numerous.

The United States is such a country with a tainted record of human rights. However, it still wants to flaunt itself as a "defender of democracy, beacon of freedom, and model of human rights", and makes indiscriminate accusations against the human rights of other countries. This is a typical act of "a thief posing as judge ". Human rights in the United States are like "the emperor's new clothes", which cannot hide their ugliness. However, the US itself is complacent about it, and some of its followers are trumpeting for it under coercion, which is deplorable.

Today, the overall social situation in Xinjiang is stable. The people live and work in peace and contentment. There have been no violent and terrorist incidents for more than five consecutive years. The rights to life and development of the people of all ethnic groups have been fully guaranteed. The North and South of Tianshan Mountains and the urban and rural areas are thriving. The United States has no rights or factual basis to make irresponsible remarks about the human rights situation in Xinjiang.

Next, we will listen to the views of some experts and scholars from different aspects.

Xu Guixiang: First of all, the United States slanders Xinjiang for "oppressing Muslims". In fact, the rights and interests of Muslims of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are fully protected in accordance with the law, and Islam in Xinjiang is carried forward in a healthy and orderly manner. In contrast, the United States systematically discriminates against Muslims, issuing Muslim bans. What it has done is shocking. Now, I'd like to invite Akbar Niyaz, associate professor of the School of History of Xinjiang University, to talk about it from his perspective.

Photo taken on May 13, 2022 shows Akbar Niyaz, associate professor of the School of History of Xinjiang University speaks at the 73rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues by XUAR in Urumqi. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Zhou Peng

Akbar Niyaz: The United States boosts its religious freedom. But Islam has long been excluded, restricted, or even prohibited in the country, and Muslim community has long been discriminated against, suppressed or even persecuted. Muslims have hardly escaped the situation of "being untrusted outsiders", and their basic political, economic, cultural and social rights are barely guaranteed.

On the one hand, the systematic violation of Muslims’ human rights in the United States is reflected in the day-to-day operation of the legislative, judicial and administrative systems. On the other hand, it is manifested through the public's negative perception and open hostility towards Muslims and Islam.

At the legislative level, after the September 11 attacks, the United States, in the name of national security, issued about 20 relevant laws and policies, including the Enhanced Border Security and Entry Visa Reform Act and the "Special Registration" program, 15 of which were obviously aimed at Muslims. At the judicial level, Muslims are often subject to inexplicable checks, prosecution and unfair treatment. On march 11, 2005, the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice disclosed in his report that Muslim prisoners were discriminated against and abused in federal prisons in many parts of the United States. In the daily operation of the administrative system, the U.S. government issued "Executive Order 13769"- the infamous "Muslim Ban", which prohibits citizens of seven countries, including Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, from entering the United States. The ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing the "Muslim Ban" is the first time in American history to institutionalize and legalize Islamophobia. It violates the provisions of the US Constitution on providing equal protection and the right to a public trial for all.

After the September 11 attacks, discrimination against Muslims in the United States showed an obvious upward trend. Moreover, some American politicians and media often equate Muslim groups with terrorists. American politicians overtly blame Islam and Muslims without worrying about any political risk. On the contrary, they are bent on stigmatizing Islam and Muslims in order to get more votes. The Associated Press reported on September 9, 2021 that the survey found that 53% of Americans viewed Islam negatively. According to the report issued by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in 2021, the organization receives more and more complaints about bullying and hate speech against Muslims year by year.

The “Islamophobia industry” even emerged and sprung up in the United States. Some people make a living from discrimination and persecution against Muslims. Many anti-Islam people cash in on such opportunities, publishing books, writing articles and receiving interviews, make a large amount of extreme remarks, even producing false information, depicting Muslims as sinister, advocating violence and anti-American images, and they are obsessed with Muslim conspiracy theories. In such an anti-Muslim social atmosphere, a vast majority of Americans are exposed to fear, mistrust and even hatred towards Muslims.

The serious consequences of systematic discrimination against Muslims in the United States are particularly evident in the field of employment. In recent decades, millions of Muslim immigrants have come to the United States with the adjustment of American immigration policy. A large part of these people are scholars, doctors and engineers with professional skills, who have made contributions to the development of the United States. However, according to the research of Carnegie Mellon University, Muslims receive “13% fewer replies than the Christians” after they submit the same job application to the same institution in the United States. According to the American Muslim Poll 2020, 33% of the Muslims are discriminated in seeking jobs. When interacting with law enforcement agencies, receiving health care services or doing activities in public places, the rate of discrimination against Muslims is much higher than that of ordinary people.

On the one hand, the United States systematically persecutes Muslims and vigorously carries out de-Islamization. On the other hand, it pretends to “care” about the living conditions of Muslims in Xinjiang. Have you ever asked the Muslims in Xinjiang? Do they need your insincere concerns? Not long ago, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region held a publicity meeting, during which religious clerics and Muslims in Xinjiang showed a large number of facts, proving that Muslims of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have freedom of belief, live a happy life and various of their rights are fully guaranteed rights. The United States can put away those “crocodile tears” and care about Muslims in the United States.

Xu Guixiang: The United States fabricated the existence of “forced labor” in Xinjiang, but in fact, workers of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are ensured to have decent work, their labor rights and interests are protected according to law, and their living conditions are significantly improved. “Work creates a better life” has become a consensus of the society. In stark contrast, US not only had massive forced labor in history, but also faces pressing human trafficking problems. Next, let’s invite Ildos Murat, vice chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, to share his views with us.

Photo taken on May 13, 2022 shows Eldos Murat, vice chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region speaks at the 73rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues by XUAR in Urumqi. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Zhou Peng

Ildos Murat: For some time, some anti-China forces in the United States have wantonly fabricated lies about the so-called "large-scale forced labor" in Xinjiang, using it as an excuse to abuse long-arm jurisdiction and export controls in an attempt to suppress enterprises in Xinjiang, create "forced unemployment" and "forced poverty" through sanctions. These anti-China forces only criticize and smear Xinjiang, and seem to forget that the US itself is the very country where forced labor does exist.

The US has a history of trafficking, abusing and discriminating against black slaves that spanned hundreds of years. From the reception of the first slaves in 1619 to the abolition of slavery in the US in 1865, American’s southern plantations became the main region where blacks and other minorities were forced to work. In order to ensure sufficient supply of laborers, even during the prohibition of the international slave trade from 1783 to 1808, American traders still transported about 170,000 slaves to the US through various means, which is one third of the total slaves imported into North America since 1619. According to statistics, the labor value of black slaves exploited by US slave owners is equivalent to as much as 14 trillion US dollars at current prices. It can be said that forced labor is an indelible stain on the "history of prosperity" of the US.

Although the world has entered the 21st century, forced labor, the poisonous legacy of slave society, is still deeply rooted in the United States. The victims are not black slaves but foreign immigrants into the US. From 2015 to 2020, cases of forced labor and human trafficking were reported in all 50 states of the United States and Washington, DC. Every year, as many as 100,000 people are trafficked from abroad to the United States for forced labor, half of which are trafficked to “sweatshops” or subject to domestic slavery. According to the statistics of some American academic institutions, at least 500,000 people in the United States are subject to modern slavery and forced labor.

American agriculture is also a worse-hit area of forced labor. The organization Farm Workers’ Justice said in its report entitled No Way to Treat a Guest that American farmers do not need to pay social security and unemployment insurance for seasonal migrant workers. They use laborers at very low cost, maliciously deducting wages and implementing debt slavery and racial discrimination, and habitually do not guarantee basic accommodation and workplace safety. In the agriculture industry, 30% of farm workers and their families live below the federal poverty line. It is difficult for them to express their needs, and they are often subject to threats or violence and forced labor.

The abuse of child labor in the United States is also notorious. The United States is the only country in the world that has not ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. According to the statistics of some American industrial associations, there are about 500,000 child workers engaged in agricultural work in the United States. Many children start working at the age of eight and work up to 72 hours a week. It is common for them to work more than 10 hours a day. Cancer risks for child workers due to pesticides are three times that of adults.

Countless historical facts and cases have proved that the forced labor in the United States is not only the African slaves’ history of blood and tears, but also the nightmare of American immigrants in modern society. However, the US government avoids talking about this, and even deliberately evades its responsibility in protecting immigrants. According to the statistics of the International Labor Organization, the United States has only ratified 14 international labor conventions so far. Among the eight essential conventions of ILO, the United States has ratified only two, and is one of the countries that ratified the least number conventions. No matter how some anti-China forces in the United States discredit and attack Xinjiang on the labor issues, and no matter how they flaunt themselves as the “beacon of democracy” and “defender of human rights”, they will never be able to hide the iron clad evidence of labor rights violations in their own country.

Xu Guixiang: The United States has vilified the existence of "genocide" in Xinjiang. In fact, all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are equal and united. They enjoy common prosperity and progress, and share the fruits of social development. However, in the United States, Indians were expelled and killed wantonly in history. Nowadays, racial discrimination is indulged, which aggravates social injustice. Next, let's give the floor to Chahan Qizir, the vice president of Xinjiang University, to share his views.

Photo taken on May 13, 2022 shows Chahan Qizir, vice president of Xinjiang University speaks at the 73rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues by XUAR in Urumqi. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Zhou Peng

Chahan Qizir: For a period of time, the United States has kept some "pseudo scholars", supported a number of anti-China organizations, and trapped Xinjiang into "genocide", and the ethnic minorities in Xinjiang have been "persecuted". However, the fact is quite the opposite. The United States itself is the country that really implements "genocide". Every chapter of American history is full of the blood of aborigines and ethnic minorities. Up to now, the evil gene of racism is still flowing in the "blood" of the United States. Racism is still unsolved and is getting worse. The "Indian genocide" and "racial discrimination record" that have lasted for more than two centuries have more new criminal evidence.

The foundation of the United States was based on the inhuman ethnic cleansing of aboriginal Indians. The American Declaration of Independence openly slandered the Indians as "merciless Indian Savages". George Washington, the first president of the United States, claimed that "the skin of Indians could be peeled off to make tall boots", and repeatedly instructed the army to slaughter Indians wantonly. Former American President James Madison decreed that they would reward dollars for each Indian skull surrendered. Former US President Andrew Jackson made a series of racist remarks, such as "an Indian should be executed every 10 minutes" and "only dead Indians are good Indians". Native Indians were expelled and killed during the Westward Expansion, and their population nosedived from 5 million in 1492 to 250,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, the number of Indians in the United States accounts for only 2% of the total population. The crazy massacre and extermination of Indians in the United States far exceeded the number of Jews massacred by the Nazis. While the American rulers slaughtered Indians wantonly, they also assimilated Indians culturally in order to eliminate dissidents. As early as the end of the 19th century, the United States began to fully implement the white-centric education and implemented the compulsory English-only education.

The American "genocide" against Indians is not only a historical issue, but also a systematic and long-term racial discrimination that continues to this day. Even today, American Indians are still a vulnerable group with backward economy and culture and frequent social problems in the United States. They still live like second-class citizens and their rights have been trampled upon. In 2014, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued concluding observations on the report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, criticizing the existence of systematic discrimination against Indians and other indigenous people in the United States. But the United States turned a deaf ear.

The foundation of American development is based on the brutal exploitation of African Americans. The history of American prosperity is a history of blood and tears of African Americans. The American film Django Unchained truly reproduces the dark history that white American manor wantonly exploited "black slaves" and treated them as indiscriminate killings. Martin Luther King's dream of realizing black equality and freedom has not yet been realized, and the painful cries of “I can’t breathe” of George Floyd barely fade from earshot. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance issues noted that the number of killings and cruel abuses of African Americans by U.S. law enforcement authorities is alarming and they are rarely prosecuted.

It is reported that 60% of African Americans believe that they are often discriminated against in job hunting and shopping, and discrimination is common in housing application, loan processing, insurance collection and other issues. According to the website of Police Violence Map, in 2020, the U.S. police shot and killed 1,127 people, and only for 18 days there was no such tragedy. African Americans account for only 13% of the total population of the United States, but account for 28% of the number shot by the police. The probability of African Americans being killed by the police is three times that of whites. From 2013 to 2020, about 98% of the police involved were not charged with crime, and very few were convicted. Especially in 2020, the death of George Floyd, an African-American man in the United States and the large-scale protests triggered by that once again exposed the long-term and systematic serious racial discrimination in the United States.

The United States wantonly bullies Asian groups. In 1882, Chester Arthur, president of the United States then, officially signed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was the first anti-immigration law against a specific race and nation in American history. The bill not only discriminated against Chinese in the United States, but also directly threatened their safety. Chinese Exclusion Act was not repealed until 1943, and the US Congress did not make a symbolic apology until 2012. In the context of Covid-19, violence against Asian Americans has aggravated, and all kinds of bullying, abuse and attacks emerge endlessly. Under the racist manipulation of American politicians, attacks against Asian Americans have increased significantly. According to a report published on Nov. 18, 2021 by the national coalition Stop Asian American and Pacific Islander Hate, from March 19, 2020 to Sept. 30 2021, a total of 10,370 hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islander people were reported to the organization, and a majority of the incidents took place in spaces open to the public like public streets and businesses. Statistics released by the New York City Police Department on Dec.8, 2021 showed that anti-Asian hate crimes in the city rose by 361 percent from that of 2020. On July 28, 2021, Foreign Affairs published an article titled Rivalry Without Racism on its website, saying that "U.S. foreign-policy makers' consistent over-exaggeration of China's threat to the United States" is a vital element of the recent surge in anti-Asian incidents. Demonizing China leads to the demonization of Asians in the country, and "until policymakers of America stop using China as a punching bag for all of the United States' woes, Asian Americans will continue to be at risk," said the article.

Xu Guixiang: Next, I’d like to show you a piece of video clip about real “genocide” committed by the United States against Native Americans.

Xu Guixiang: The United States has accused Xinjiang of violating human rights. In fact, the rights to life, health, development and other rights and interests of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are effectively protected. People live and work in peace and contentment. In contrast, the United States has registered more than one million Covid-19 related deaths due to incompetent pandemic response. Now, I’d like to invite the president of Xinjiang Medical University, Kaysar Abdukerem to share his views.

Photo taken on May 13, 2022 shows Kaysar Abdukerem, president of Xinjiang Medical University speaks at the 73rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues by XUAR in Urumqi. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Zhou Peng

Kaysar Abdukerem: As the country with the world’s most advanced medical equipment and technology, the United States has the largest number of Covid-19 infections and deaths in the whole world. It is the veritable “biggest failed country in fighting Covid-19”. The United States government ignored people’s life and health rights, while they giving up the fight against Covid-19 and continuing to lie flat, they fooled people in the name of protecting “freedom” and made uproar to “trace the source of the virus”. They were engaged in political manipulation and eager to “shift the blame”, so they could divert people’s attention.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the United States, the epidemic prevention and control has been highly politicized. It has become a tool and bargaining chip used by the Republicans and Democrats to censure, veto and confront each other. Politicians only focused on their own political gains, but ignored people’s lives and health. Instead of focusing on epidemic prevention and control, the United States government was engaged in political manipulation and releasing false information to mislead the people. Some politicians were trying to downplay the hazards of epidemic and pursued measures that go against the advice of public health experts. Owing to politicizing scientific issues and creating social antagonism, they have turned this society into a chaotic epidemic prevention situation. The government has made inaction or even chaotic measure, but American people were unable to change the tragic situation. They ultimately paid a heavy price with their own lives.

As of May 4, the cumulative number of Covid-19 deaths in the United States exceeded 1 million, which is equivalent to the population of San Jose, the nation’s 10th largest city. According to US media, Covid-19 has caused more than 200000 American children lost their parents or primary caregivers, making them “Pandemic Orphans”. These orphans are also at risk of substance abuse, dropout and poverty. However, the United States media pointed out that this vulnerable group ,most in need of help, is not “treated as an urgent issue” by the government. Those “Pandemic Orphans” show significant racial differences, which magnifies the problem of systemic racial discrimination in American society. According to the study by American scholars, ethnic minorities account for 39% of the total population in the United States, but “Pandemic Orphans” from ethnic minorities account for 65%. An average of 1 in 753 white children will be “Pandemic Orphans”, this corresponds to 1 in 412 for Hispanic Americans, 310 for African Americans and 168 for Native Americans.

The elderly have become “victims” of the Covid-19 prevention and control in the United States. Some U.S. politicians have followed the natural law of "selecting the superior and eliminating the inferior," declaring that "the elderly could sacrifice for the country" and that "the national economy is more important than the lives of the elderly." According to the report released by Claudia Muller, the United Nation Independent Experts on the rights of older persons on July 21, 2020, the discrimination in health care services, insufficient priority to nursing homes and isolation approaches make the elderly more vulnerable to be neglected or abused. There are significant omissions in nursing home deaths during Covid-19 in the United States.

The United States’ inadequate response to Covid-19 has resulted in significant number of homeless people. According to the Associated Press report, the number of people without homes in Rhode Island has increased by more than 85% since January 2021. According to a report by the group Advocates for Children, more than 100,000 New York City schoolchildren were homeless at some point during the 2020-2021 school year. The total number of homeless students during the school year represented nearly one-tenth of the city's public school system. Some students live in homeless shelters; others even have to live in cars, parks or abandoned buildings. The New York Times reported that in San Francisco one of every 100 residents was homeless.

Some politicians turn a blind eye to the lives of the people in their own country and show no concern for them while worrying about people in other countries. As some media commented, the American hypocritical posturing is distasteful.

Xu Guixiang: Next, I’d like to show you a video about the related conditions in the United States, the world’s biggest failure in Covid-19 prevention and control, which has caused more than one million deaths.

Xu Guixiang: The United States also has the distinct feature of being the most belligerent nation in the world, especially in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. It has caused humanitarian disasters that were too numerous to record and countless civilians’ deaths in the war. Next, I’d like to invite Guo Bei, researcher of the Law Institute of Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, to share her views.

Photo taken on May 13, 2022 shows Guo Bei, researcher of the Law Institute of Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences speaks at the 73rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues by XUAR in Urumqi. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Zhou Peng

Guo Bei: According to a report on the United States foreign wars released by the China Society for Human Rights Studies in April 2021, the United States has not been involved in wars for less than 20 years in the 240-year history since independence in 1776. According to incomplete statistics, there were 248 armed conflicts took place in 153 regions of the world from the end of World War II in 1945 to 2001. The United States initiated 201 conflicts, taking up about 81%. The belligerent United States has torn off the “cloak” of hypocrisy, always brandishing the “big stick” of force. The US willfully infringes upon other countries’ sovereignty and tramples on their human rights; even the “carrot” is no longer offered.

The series of wars waged by the United States have created numerous humanitarian disasters. About 2 million Vietnamese civilians died during the Vietnam War from the 1950s to the 1970s, and 400,000 were killed by defoliant dropped by the United States military. In the Kosovo War in 1999, the United States-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces openly bypassed the United Nations Security Council and carried out continuous bombing on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for 78 days under the banner of "avoiding humanitarian disaster". They killed more than 2,000 innocent civilians and injured more than 6,000 civilians. After 20 years of operations in Afghanistan, 174,000 people were killed and more than 60,000 wounded. On the day they left Afghanistan, the United States armed forces killed 10 members of a family, the youngest of whom was only 2 years old. In 2003, the Iraq War resulted in a death of about 200,000 to 250,000 civilians, and more than 16,000 civilians were directly killed by the United States military. The United States-led coalition forces also made extensive use of depleted uranium bombs, cluster bombs and white-phosphorus bombs in Iraq, which caused huge harm to civilians. Between 2016 and 2019, the Syrian war caused 33,584 civilians’ deaths. There were 3,833 people directly killed by the United States-led coalition bombing, and half of them are women and children. These groups of data are shocking by the sight and truly record numerous crimes against the people of the world committed by the United States. As the most belligerent and brutal country in the world, the United States should sincerely apologize and repent to the families of those innocent victims!

Recently, the Syrian Foreign Ministry sent a letter to the United Nations. It publicly accuses the United States-led "League of Nations" that committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria. In the letter, the Syrian Foreign Ministry detailed a series of humanitarian disasters caused by military operations in Syria led by the illegal "League of Nations" forces between 2017 and 2019. In 2017, the League of Nations’ military operation almost destroyed the city and killed thousands of civilians in Raqqa. In 2018, the United States forces dropped two bombs on the village of Baghouz, which killed nearly 80 people.

The United States invades other countries and creates humanitarian disasters under the pretext of its so-called "human rights intervention policy", Syria is just a microcosm. If war is the "grave" of human rights, the history of the United States is a graveyard with no end in sight. For decades, the United States has waged wars, exported wars and interfered in internal affairs around the world in the name of "democracy" and "human rights". Its hegemonic policy of "seeking hegemony in spite of the loss of world interests" has caused numerous human tragedies in many countries.

It is scandalous that the United States does not reflect on its crimes, and even tries every means to deny and obstruct the investigation. The United States has carried out financial sanctions and entry restrictions on the International Criminal Court staff members and their families, who involved in the investigation into the conduct of United States troops in the Afghan war. It openly threatened and intimidated the International Criminal Court to drop the investigation. On the other hand, the United States continues to assert itself in the international community as the "international policeman" and "defender of human rights".

However, the history of more than 200 years of war is indelible evidence. It highlights the nature of the addiction to war and pins it on the "column of shame" as a producer of humanitarian disasters. Regardless of whether the United States initiates or instigates wars under any ingenious pretext, the thousands of innocent "wraith" killed under American artillery fire constantly remind the world of its hypocritical nature -- the United States has never been a "human rights defender", but a "human rights pseudo defender".

Xu Guixiang: Next, I’d like you to watch a video and learn about the wars and humanitarian disaster caused by the United States.

Xu Guixiang: The United States has a chronic problem of police violence in law enforcement, and the judicial institutions "shield" and "indulge" police violence. Next, I would like to invite Mr. Anwar Abla, director of Urumqi Lawyers Association and Xinjiang Jasur Law Firm, to share his views.

Photo taken on May 13, 2022 shows Anwar Abla, director of Urumqi Lawyers Association and director of Xinjiang Jasur Law Firm speaks at the 73rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues by XUAR in Urumqi. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Zhou Peng

Anwar Abla: In 2020, George Floyd, an African-American, died of suffocation after being violently enforced by a white police officer. The cry of "I can't breathe" tore down the fig leaf of human rights in the United States, which exposed the long-standing problems of police brutality and systematic racial discrimination. Within a year of Floyd's murder, 181 African-Americans were killed by police in the United States, according to data compiled by the Independent Research Project, Mapping Police Violence.

Why is it so difficult to eradicate police violent law enforcement in the United States? Legally speaking, the police in the United States have virtually no obligation to protect citizens. This strange phenomenon stems from the American judicial institution’s "protection" of police violence. The Supreme Court of the United States has repeatedly affirmed that police officers and government officials do not have to be sued for failing in their duty to protect citizens, which is known as the doctrine of qualified immunity. In a nutshell, as long as there is no evidence that government officials knowingly broke the law or intentionally violated the Constitution, they are immune from civil lawsuits if they "inadvertently" broke the law in the performance of their duties. Between 2013 and 2020, 98.3% of police officers with violent law enforcement records in the United States were not charged with a crime, according to data compiled by Mapping Police Violence. In other words, only a few police officers will be punished for violent law enforcement. As a "police state", the actions of the American police are not only protected by judicial institutions, but also acquiesced by legislators and administrators. All police unions across the country have been among the most solidly conservative in any election, they stand with the conservative Republican Party. Republicans support the ideas of police unions, while Democrats fear their power. So the violent law enforcement is even more assured and fearless.

Why the victims of violent enforcement are mostly the African Americans? In African American families, children are always told that, as a black man, the probability of being interrogated by the police is very high, and do not talk back in this situation, or the consequences will be very dangerous. The USA Today website reported a survey on July 8, 2021 showed that only 22% of Americans believe police enforce laws fairly. And people of color frequently suffer from unfair enforcement. Violent law enforcement in the United States is inseparable from systematic racial discrimination. Historically, police departments in the United States began as vigilantes formed by local communities to capture escaping black slaves and suppress serf uprisings. After the abolition of slavery, police forces in the former slave states of the South became a tool for racists to "legally" limit black power instead of respecting their rights. This racist tradition is deeply embedded in America's police force. In addition, the intensification of racial conflicts in the American society makes the prejudice of the American police against the African American community more obvious, as well as their vigilance and tension, which easily leads to the occurrence of violent law enforcement.

Finally, is it possible to eradicate the violent law enforcement in the United States? In the United States, police violence against law enforcement is intertwined with racial discrimination, gun violence and social justice. It has become one of the deep-rooted "American diseases". The American society is rife with racism and social divisions. After being "liberated" for 159 years, African American are still trapped in all kinds of chains, such as long-term discrimination and inequality in terms of economy, higher unemployment, fewer jobs, lower wages and less social welfare. All of these make the African American difficult to receive equal opportunity for development. White supremacy is rampant in the United States, and it has even evolved into hate crimes against African Americans. Some people even support the violent law enforcement by the police. On the other hand, the problem of gun violence is increasingly serious due to the proliferation of guns in the United States. "Ghost guns" is hardly to be banned, and the problem of gun violence is more acute in communities inhabited by African Americans. The police are more likely to take highly harmful measures when facing African American criminal suspects. Violent law enforcement is the product of the defects of the American system, it is a cancer attached to the "blood" of the American society, and there is no possibility of a complete solution.

Xu Guixiang: Next, let’s look at the truth about the National Endowment for Democracy. As a “pawn” and “white glove” of the U.S. government, the foundation has supported and financed “East Turkestan” overseas and fabricated a series of lies and rumors about Xinjiang, with the intention of “containing China through disrupting Xinjiang”. Next, I would like to invite Liu Weidong, a researcher at the Institute of American Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, to share his views.

Photo taken on May 13, 2022 shows Liu Weidong, researcher of American Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences speaks on line at the 73rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues by XUAR in Urumqi. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Zhou Peng

Liu Weidong: Behind a series of ridiculous “farce” related to Xinjiang in recent years, a self-proclaimed “unofficial and nonprofit” organization has been keeping a high profile. It’s the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), known as the “white glove” of the U.S. government. From 2004 to 2020, NED provided $8.7583 million to various “Uyghur organizations,” making it the largest financial backer of the “World Uyghur Congress” and other “East Turkestan(Turkistan)” organizations.

1. As the “financial backer”, what’s NED’s intention with huge investment?

The NED, known as “America’s second CIA,” is not to feed several notorious people out of generosity. Its purpose is to subvert, infiltrate and sabotage, incite so-called “democracy movements” and serve the strategic interests of the U.S. NED’s then president Gershman once publicly said that “the solution to China’s Xinjiang problem is to carry out another color revolution in China, to make a regime change in China as a federal republic, which is consistent with Lawrence Wilkerson, former Army Colonel and former chief of staff to former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, that “the best way for the CIA to destabilize China is to create unrest in China. Use the Uyghur to stimulate Beijing and bring down China directly from within.”

NED’s Xinjiang-related project has a very clear intention, which is to focus on hyping up the “human rights crisis” in Xinjiang and collude with the US and the West to deter China through Xinjiang. NED’s Xinjiang program reached $900,000 in 2019 and $1.24 million in 2020. Main projects are as follows: “Uyghur Human Rights Advocacy through Artistic Interaction” would mobilize “Xinjiang separatists” home and abroad to hype up the issue of Xinjiang in the name of art; “Human Rights Advocacy Documents and Research” built a database of Uyghur “human rights” and churned out reports to discredit China’s Uyghur-related policies; and the “Defending and Advocating for Uyghur’s Human Rights” and “Empowering Women and Youth in Advocacy and Civic Engagement” projects would continue the Xinjiang-related work in 2019.

In 2022, nine projects related to Xinjiang, China were funded by NED, up to $2.5 million, with an increase of 100.48% year-on-year, increasing for four consecutive years and hitting a record high. In terms of project setting, there are two major projects, including human rights project and marginalized people’s rights project. The total number of sub-projects increased by two compared to the previous year, including the use of new media for advocacy and the establishment of the Uyghur Human Rights Database. In terms of project allocation, the practice of assigning projects to specific organizations was changed to demand-driven in order to stimulate “competitiveness” among overseas “East Turkistan” forces. As a result, they could fight for the fund more blatantly and unscrupulously, which dovetails with the U.S. policy of “containing China through disrupting Xinjiang”.

2. What has the “East Turkistan” organization done with the support of the NED?

NED not only finance the “ETIM” , but also mobilizes its interpersonal network to set the stage for its various activities. In order to “claim credit” and “demonstrate loyalty” to NED, “East Turkistan” organization has concocted a series of lies about Xinjiang and smears the human rights situation in the region in an extremely underhanded manner. The “East Turkistan” organization has spared no effort to do whatever makes its “master” happy, that is, the NED. For example, the “World Uyghur Congress” and “Human Rights Watch” have fabricated and disseminated rumors of “genocide” and “millions of Uyghur were detained in training centers”. The Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) interviewed only eight people without solid evidence. Based on such absurd small samples, HRD applied the estimated ratios to the entire Xinjiang region, and arbitrarily concludes that 1 million people are detained in “re-education camps” and 2 million people are “forced to attend daytime or evening re-education classes” to fuel rumors about Xinjiang. Altai, the current president of the Uyghur American Association, often makes pro-U.S. and anti-China statements on social media, supports a “new cold war” against China, and says that “all countries should treat China as a criminal”. During the epidemic, members of the Uyghur American Association and its affiliates spread far-right remarks, inciting hatred against Asians, calling the novel coronavirus the “China virus”, and slandering China for launching a “virus war” on the world and “deliberately exported the virus to cause a global pandemic”.

Another example is the so-called “Uyghur Special Court”, which is set up by the anti-China separatist group “World Uyghur Congress” and is under the manipulation and funding of anti-China forces in the United States and the West. They whipped together a small group of anti-China activists to pay for liars, lies and perjury. This so-called “court” has neither any legal qualification nor any credibility, and is disgraced by people of justice in the international community. Some social media have exposed the appearance fees and the proportion of the spoils of the “witnesses” of the so-called “court”. Of the total fee of 100,700 pounds, the largest share was 43,000 pounds for an “anonymous witness” surnamed Wang, who presented himself as a “former police officer sent to Xinjiang in 2018 to investigate separatist activities” and spread a lot of false information about Xinjiang. It is the same person who changed his surname to Jiang in CNN’s report, and even CNN itself admitted that it “could not unilaterally confirm his claims”. The so-called “final verdict” of such a “lie-making machine” is a political farce of the clowns.

Xu Guixiang: The US hypes up the "human rights issues" in Xinjiang for a clear purpose. A lot of facts have proved that their purpose is to discredit China's image, interfere in China's internal affairs and contain China's development. Then, Cao Wei, an associate professor from the School of Politics and International Relations of Lanzhou University, will share his views.

Photo taken on May 13, 2022 shows Cao Wei, associate professor of School of Politics and International Relations of Lanzhou University speaks on line at the 73rd Press Conference on Xinjiang-related Issues by XUAR in Urumqi. Photo by Xinjiang Daily/ Zhou Peng

Cao Wei: The United States has hyped the topic of "human rights" in Xinjiang for some time. It has successively issued sanctions in the name of "human rights violations" in Xinjiang and signed the “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act”. The purpose for that is to tarnish China's image, interfere in China's domestic affairs, and curb China's development. Wilkerson, director of the office of former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, personally admitted that the so-called Xinjiang Uyghur issue is just a long-term strategic conspiracy of the United States to destabilize and suppress China from within. Having considered American policies on Xinjiang in recent years, I have the following three views:

1. Exposing the hypocrisy of US policies towards China

As two major countries with great influence in today's world, China and the United States have great international responsibilities for the cause of maintaining human peace and development. Unfortunately, since 2017, the US Trump administration has regarded China as a "strategic competitor". After taking office, Biden administration exerts pressure on China through the establishment of the trilateral security partnership between the United States, Britain and Australia, the organization of the four party security dialogue mechanism among United States, Japan, India and Australia, and the collaboration of “The Five Eyes”. It ganged up anti-China "small circles" to obstruct China's development in the international community, and continued to provoke wantonly on a series of issues involving China's core interests. On issues related to Xinjiang, the US State Council, the Ministry of finance, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Homeland Security and other administrative departments have placed lots of Chinese officials, government agencies, enterprises and institutions on sanctions lists under various excuses. What's more, members of both parties in the US have rushed to put forward various anti-China bills related to Xinjiang. According to incomplete statistics, in 2021, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bureau issued seven temporary detention orders for "forced labor" related goods exported to the United States, including clothing, textiles and other cotton products, tomato products, silicon-based products and electronic products produced in Xinjiang. And a total of about $485 million worth of goods were detained and confiscated, a significant increase in quantity and value compared with the average of 2020. Since the Biden administration came to power, the number and intensity of sanctions concerning Xinjiang imposed by the United States on China have exceeded the Trump period.

2. Exposing the maliciousness of the US policies towards China

The United States has been clamoring about the so-called "forced sterilization", "forced labor" and "genocide" in Xinjiang, which is not only aimed at Xinjiang but also targeted at the whole of China in essence. As early as the "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020" was being discussed to put into operation in the US Congress, the "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act" was also brewing on the Capitol Hill. On July 14 and December 8, 2021, the US Senate and House of Representatives passed their own versions of the act respectively. After that, a joint session of Senate and House of Representatives hammered out the final version of the act, which was quickly reviewed and adopted by the House and the Senate on December 14 and 16 and then submitted to President Biden for signature. This can be called "hasty". The scope of "all commodities involved in the production of forced Labor" in the "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act" depends to a large extent on the flexibility of the U.S. government in the enforcement of the law. Not only can companies employing Uyghur employees in Xinjiang be considered guilty of "forced labour", but any other companies in China that have businesses with those companies could also be subject to sanctions. At the same time, as long as the United States is willing, it can collude with Western allies to boycott Xinjiang products, and even use "Long-Arm jurisdiction" to coerce other countries into joining sanctions against Xinjiang.

3. Exposing the anti-humanitarianism of the US policies towards China

Since the end of the 20th century, the United States has arbitrarily interfered in the internal affairs of other countries in the name of "human rights protection" and stopping "humanitarian crises". They even launched wars, often causing more serious humanitarian crises in the international community. When it comes to this, the United States just left without saying "sorry". In recent years, the United States has shown extraordinary enthusiasm for the issue of "human rights" in Xinjiang. From the spokesmen of the White House and the State Department to government ministers as well as from members of Congress to the President, they have been always talking about "human rights in Xinjiang", as if repeating a lie 10,000 times can turn it into a "truth".

For the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, the rights to subsistence and development are the biggest human rights, and fighting against terrorism and extremism and maintaining social stability and peace are the biggest demands of their immediate interests. In the past, the United States turned a blind eye to millions of people of all ethnic groups in Southern Xinjiang who needed to get rid of poverty for a better-off life. In the face of a series of terrorist incidents perpetrated by the "East Turkistan" terrorists and the cries of victims, the US not only turned a deaf ear to them, but even removed the terrorist organization "East Turkistan Islamic Movement"from the list of terrorist organizations.

Now the US wants to deprive people in Xinjiang of their right to improve their lives and pursue happiness in the name of "forced labor". The "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act" has assumed that any enterprise employing Uyghur employees may face sanctions. Some enterprises may not dare to hire Uyghur employees or engage in business with those enterprises employing Uyghur employees after weighing their interests and losses so as to avoid sanctions by the United States. This could lead to a sharp rise in unemployment and a decline in living standards among Uyghur. Isn’t this the "beautiful scenery" that anti-China politicians in the US really want to see? In the long run, the Uyghur people will be deprived of development opportunities and forced to become an isolated group outside the mainstream society in economic, social, cultural and political life and so on. Isn't this another form of racial segregation? The main culprits of all this is anti-China politicians in the US.

Dear friends from the press, the human rights disasters perpetrated by the US are outrageous and should draw attention of the international community. We call on relevant international organizations to investigate human rights disasters caused by the United States so that all people can see the ugly face of the United States.

Xu Guixiang: Next, let's move to the question and answer session for media.(omitted)