Children in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Photo: Cui Meng/GT

The Chinese Embassy in Spain recently made a stern though humorous announcement, criticizing the European country's largest newspaper for following certain Western media in hyping the so-called "human rights violations" in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The announcement commented on a recent report by El Pais about the supposedly leaked documents on China's Xinjiang policies. The report was so poorly written in Chinese that the Embassy called it "horrible to read" and offered to help the paper improve its writing.

"You should know, the translation software of your American friends is not trustworthy sometimes," the Embassy said.

"On November 27, we were surprised to find that El Pais had begun releasing news in Chinese on its website! The embassy gave a full response to the newspaper's recent efforts to hype China's Xinjiang issues. Luckily, local readers have kept a clear mind on the issue," read the release from the embassy's website on November 27. 

Recently, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that has worked with 17 media partners, including El Pais, received what it said were "official" documents detailing China's "brainwashing" of Muslims in Xinjiang.

Since November 16, represented by The New York Times, many Western media have maliciously promoted news on Xinjiang by using the documents. 

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the regional government of Xinjiang have released several statements slamming Western media's hyping of the documents.

"We are sorry to see that, after the hard work of translating, cutting and pasting, El Pais got on board this round of hyped Xinjiang issues," read a statement from the embassy's website on November 25. 

Photo: Xinhua

Since November 25, El Pais has released four stories on Xinjiang, accusing of "abuse" of Uyghurs and defaming vocational education and training centers in the region.

Although it did not previously offer news in Chinese, El Pais, with no prior warning, released a story in Chinese on November 26 in which it specifically noted that it is the only Spanish media to have "obtained the documents."

No other media in Spain has followed El Pais in slandering China's Xinjiang policies. 

The Chinese Embassy in Spain said in another release on November 27 that the paper's unexpected publication of news in Chinese was questionable.

"Do you want to use the Chinese story to win the sympathy of Chinese readers and then enter the Chinese market, which you have been longing for? We can tell you that although the Chinese language is beautiful, the quality of your Chinese story is too poor to comprehend. You should know that the translation software offered by your American friends is sometimes not trustworthy."

"Or did certain organizations push you so hard that your newspaper had to cut its proofreading? Can you really get payments from certain organizations by releasing these poorly written stories?"

"Regardless, the embassy is happy to see the efforts you have made to start learning and using Chinese. A journey of thousands of miles may not be achieved without the accumulation of each single step," the Embassy noted, quoting a household Chinese phrase. 

Photo: Xinhua

The embassy also sent a poem written by late Chinese leader Mao Zedong to help improve El Pais' Chinese level. It suggested that if they have difficulty translating the poems using machines, they can seek help from the embassy.

The poem tells about tiny flies that make feeble noises in the background of the vast world, and small ants boasting about overturning a big tree. All injurious insects will be wiped out, the poem says.

Mao wrote the poem in 1963 to oppose foreign hegemony.

El Pais' recent reports on China's Xinjiang, particularly its recent one in Chinese, have brought criticism from Spanish netizens. 

One of the readers, Jesus Gomez, commented on the newspaper's website that such media say they are concerned about human rights, but "where were they for the human rights of Syrians, Libyans, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Yemenis, and more? With hundreds of thousands dead, millions wounded and displaced, and refugees, with their human rights violated. Surely those who now denounce the Chinese were busy bombing and burning these countries, right? Now, while they carry out more wars, they send anti-Chinese slogans to the 'Western free press.'"

Jorge Luis Bautista wrote that these media's reports "raise doubts as to their impartiality."