Chinese diplomacy guru: Persecution allegations of the Uighur community were staged

Duvar English

Fu Ying, one of the most prominent figures of Chinese foreign policy, said that the coronavirus epidemic “taught a hard lesson” and “costed dearly” to China, and that the Chinese people would expect “further reforms” from the Communist Party administration. With respect to the growing concerns over the treatment of the Uighur minority in her country, Fu said that China and Turkey refrain from interfering in other countries’ internal affairs, and respect each other’s right to choose their own path.

In an exclusive interview with Turkish journalist Murat Yetkin for his personal blog YetkinReport, Fu Ying said that Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met or held telephone conversations on many occasions over the years, and reached a lot of important consensus, which has served as guidance for further progress of China-Turkey relations in the new era.

"Now the two countries already have extensive exchanges and cooperation in investment, finance, engineering, humanities exchanges, and other areas. People in China are keen on deepening exchanges with Turkey and there is great potential for us to grow our ties. Both China and Turkey are against extremism, separatism and terrorism. It is expected that the two sides will strengthen their strategic cooperation, enhance mutual trust and understanding and support each other on major issues related to safeguarding sovereignty, security and unity," she told.

Fu denied the allegations of the Uighur community living in Turkey for ill treatment of their people in China and defended that people in Xinjiang are living in peace, and the economy is prospering.

"Last year, I attended a conference in Turkey, during which participants from Turkey and other countries expressed their concerns about the Xinjiang issue. They showed me YouTube videos in which some people tearfully complained about the 'persecution'. But it was clear that the videos were staged, and some person was playing different roles in two videos. I explained the policy and development to my counterpart. Ever since the astounding Urumqi riots killing many on July 5, 2009, Xinjiang had been haunted by terrorism. The Central and local governments have taken measures to address the issue, including poverty alleviation, job creation, and education for helping people to eradicate the extreme ideas and return to normal live in the society. Now, people in the region are living in peace, and the economy is prospering," she added.

Murat Yetkin's piece in full can be reached here.