The People’s Daily (March 23) published a Zhong Sheng (钟声) commentary that stressed “Xinjiang-related issues” were not “human rights issues” at all but “issues of counterterrorism, deradicalization, and anti-splittism.” It said accusations of “so-called ‘genocide,’ ‘forced labour,’ and ‘religious oppression’” were “the biggest lies of this century” (本世纪最大的谎言). It cited figures for population growth over the last 40-plus years and economic development and life expectancy over the last 60-plus years to argue that Xinjiang was experiencing its “best development period in history.” The commentary stated that over 1,200 recent visitors from more than 100 countries had found that the situation in Xinjiang was “completely different” from that depicted in “certain Western media reports” and that 64 countries had signed on to a Cuban-led joint statement at the UNHRC in support of China’s position in Xinjiang. It concluded, “In the face of facts, any lies that invert black and white and that create something out of nothing will ultimately have no place to hide, and any unscrupulous rumours and slander will ultimately receive a righteous settling of accounts. [We] strongly advise a small number of Western countries to abandon ideological prejudice, stop engaging in political manipulation and double standards on human rights issues, and stop using Xinjiang-related issues to harm China’s interests and interfere in China’s internal affairs.”

(Comment: There have been a number of reactions to the US and West's sanctions on the issue of ill-treatment of Uyghurs by the Chinese authorities. The Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted on March 26 (below) as did the Global Times in an Editorial on March 29.)