Madness and Malice Behind Pompeo’s “Genocide” Lie

On January 19, his final day as U.S. secretary of state, Mike Pompeo took his madness to the extreme, announcing that “China is committing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, China, targeting Uyghur Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups.” Even in his “last words”, Pompeo was still telling a barefaced lie. His accusation of China cannot withstand any scrutiny and is ready to be buried.

i.Concocting false charges against China

As we all know, the United States has been producing lies on Xinjiang-related issues in recent years, such as the so-called “concentration camp”. The fabrication of the “genocide” theory regarding Xinjiang began with the release of a so-called “research report” issued by the Jamestown Foundation on June 29, 2020. It says that the Chinese government is suspected of carrying out genocide against the minorities in Xinjiang. Subsequently, the then US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, Senator Marco Rubio, Congressman Jim McGovern, and some anti-China organizations immediately joined the hype.

Since then, the above-mentioned ones and Turkistan Islamic Party have collaborated in evildoing, continuing to encourage the US government and other Western governments to convict China. On January 14, American Congressional-Executive Commission on China released its 2020 annual report, recommending that the US government issue a formal statement on China’s alleged crimes and genocide in Xinjiang.

In order to smear and slander China, Pompeo and other anti-China forces in the US have resorted to every conceivable means.

ii.No lie can twist the truth

Facts speak louder than words. China’s policies related to Xinjiang aim to preserve stability and benefit local people, and have already made remarkable achievements.

Taking the population of Xinjiang as an example, the population growth of Xinjiang and ethnic minorities has remained stable in recent years. According to statistics, from 2010 to 2018, the total population of Xinjiang increased from 22 million to 25 million, an increase of 13.99%. Among them, the population of ethnic minorities increased 2.9 million, by 22.14%.

Besides, all ethnic minorities in Xinjiang received care and assistance from the government in education, religious freedom, and political rights, which ensure their long-term stable development and comprehensive protection.

In terms of education, to promote the education level of minority groups and the quality of their education, the government has long adopted special policies for them. According to the data released by the Department of Education of Xinjiang, in 2019, there were about 6.4 million enrolled students, of which 4.8 million were ethnic minorities, accounting for 74.7% of the total number of students in Xinjiang.

In terms of religious freedom, people’s rights to religious freedom are protected with support from the national level. The number of mosques is more than twice that of the America, Britain, Germany, and France combined. In addition, since 1996, the government in Xinjiang has chartered flights to organize religious followers for pilgrimage, provided medical treatment and translations for pilgrims. The central government and the government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have made tremendous efforts to protect the legal rights of ethnic minorities. This is the truth that no one can deny.

In terms of political rights, all levels of government in Xinjiang strictly implemented the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and Law of the People’s Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy, and guaranteed that the minority groups can fully engage in managing affairs of the country. As of 2018, there were 428,000 government officials who belong to minority groups, accounting for 50.3% of Xinjiang officials.

The above facts show that since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially since the reform and opening-up, the quality of life of all groups in Xinjiang has greatly improved. The rapid development, which is certainly unimaginable to some short-sighted American politicians, is driven by effective policies, and the progress is very rare in the history of all countries in the world.

iii.Lies reveal madness

In truth, Pompeo and his fellows knew that no matter how they fabricated their words, lies will always be lies. However, the real intentions of such compulsive liars were never just about telling lies. They were intended to damage China’s international image through fake news and crack down on China in public opinion and morality, and then, while disturbing the peaceful development in Xinjiang, launch one after one diplomatic war with China.

It is known to all that in recent years, US anti-China forces first cooked up lies to smear China, and then intervened China’s internal affairs, using sanctions and diplomatic means to attack China. This time, the lies about genocide are even more vicious and more deceptive. Pompeo tried to discredit China’s international image by manipulating international public opinion and using malicious words without a bottom line.

On the issues of counter-terrorism, the US designated other countries as state sponsors of terrorism without any evidence and designated an organization as a terrorist organization based on whether it threatens America’s interests. Recently, the US once again designated Cuba as a sponsor of terrorism. The US has become lawless in concocting crimes and conducting sanctions against other countries.

Pompeo’s behavior also reflects the agelong American style of power politics. Needless to say, this madness has recklessly violated international laws and the basic norms of international relations. It certainly will boomerang to the US itself.

Contributed by Jia Chunyang, assistant research fellow, Chinese Institutes of Contemporary International Relations

Translated by Ren Meiqi