A group of political leaders led by the “moderate” Palestinian party Fatah and representing a variety of Arab nations visited occupied East Turkistan, the Chinese state propaganda outlet Global Times revealed on Thursday, applauding China’s “creative governance measures” in the region.
The “creative governance measures” in East Turkistan, which China refers to with the colonial name “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” collectively compose an organized campaign of genocide against the majority-Muslim indigenous communities of the occupied nation, most prominently the Uyghur ethnic group, as well as Kazakh and Kyrgyz populations in the region. The Communist Party has imprisoned as many as 3 million people in concentration camps since 2017, as well as launched forced sterilization and abortion initiatives, enslaved tens of thousands of locals, and almost entirely outlawed the practice of Islam in the region.
Muslims around the world are currently observing Ramadan, a holy month during which the religion commands fasting during daylight hours and other practices the Communist Party has effectively banned in public.
Uyghur human rights activists condemned the Arab delegation visiting East Turkistan for offering their approval for the genocide of fellow Muslims, condemning the visit as a “calculated propaganda effort” to “legitimize” the genocide.
According to the Global Times the delegation visiting Xinjiang consisted of political figures from Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, and Tunisia. A Fatah representative, Bassam Zakarneh, led the group.
The delegation met with the top Communist Party official in East Turkistan, Ma Xingrui, who insisted that, thanks to the genocide, the region was “harmonious and stable with human rights of all ethnic groups fully guaranteed.”
Ma insisted that the extensive evidence of genocide against the Uyghurs and other ethnic groups was not real.
“Some forces in the US and other Western countries have painted black as white, and have been spreading lies and fallacies about the Xinjiang region targeting ethnicity, religion, and human rights issues, Ma said,” according to the state newspaper, “noting that their intention is to use the Xinjiang related topics to contain China.”
The Global Times claimed the Arab delegation “noted that the Xinjiang region [sic] has implemented creative governance measures based on local conditions, achieved unprecedented progress in economic development.” The group claimed that the repressed non-Han groups of East Turkistan “live a good life” and all have “smiles on their faces.”
The East Turkistan Government in Exile, an organization representing the oppressed populations of the region and advocating for the recognition and restoration of East Turkistan statehood, issued a statement saying it “unequivocally condemns” the Arab delegation’s approval of the genocide of its people.
“The ETGE views this visit as a calculated propaganda effort, aimed at legitimizing China’s brutal campaign of colonization, genocide, and occupation against the Uyghur people and other predominantly Muslim peoples in East Turkistan,” the organization said in its statement.
The foreign minister of the East Turkistan government, Salih Hudayar, noted that the timing of the visit coinciding with Ramadan added insult to the Arab world’s support for the genocide.
“The timing of the Arab delegation’s visit during Ramadan—a period when practicing our faith could mean severe punishment—shamelessly endorses China’s genocidal policies aimed at erasing our religion, culture, and existence,” Hudayar said. “This visit is a profound betrayal, ignoring the desperate plight of the Uyghur people and other Turkic peoples, and tacitly supporting China’s ongoing genocide and occupation in East Turkistan.”
The Chinese Communist Party has, with notable success, attempted to prevent Muslim world condemnation of its genocide of mostly Muslim people by supporting the anti-Israel cause. China hosted the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in June, a visit during which Abbas denied the sovereignty of the state of Taiwan and condemned “interference” in the Uyghur genocide.
Following the October 8 massacre of an estimated 1,200 civilians in Israel by the genocidal terrorist organization Hamas, the Chinese Communist Party embraced Hamas’s cause, demanding the carving out of a state of “Palestine” from Israeli territory and pushing for calls to oppose Israel’s self-defense operations at the U.N. Security Council. China vetoed a draft resolution at the Security Council last week proposed by the United States on the Israeli war on Hamas, claiming that it was inadequate because it did not demand that Israel stop its activities against the terrorist organization.
“With a responsible attitude of safeguarding fairness and justice, the UN Charter, and the dignity of the Council, and also based on the concerns and strong opposition from the Arab states regarding this draft resolution, China has voted against the draft resolution,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on March 25. “There is an urgent need for the Security Council to promote the immediate realization of a ceasefire that is unconditional and durable. This is a prevailing aspiration of the international community.”
This week, the Security Council passed a resolution, supported by China, calling for a “ceasefire,” which the administration of leftist President Joe Biden did not oppose.
In addition to the delegation to East Turkistan, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed the head of the Arab League to Beijing on Thursday to enhance cooperation with the coalition, whose policies are aggressively anti-Israel.
Wang, the Chinese state outlet Xinhua reported, “noted that China-Arab states relations are enjoying their best period in history. China is ready to work with the League of Arab States to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of both sides and advance the construction of a China-Arab states community with a shared future.”
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