Female trainees make shoes in a vocational education and training center in Hotan, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on October 20, 2018. Photo: Fan Lingzhi/GT

Chinese embassy slammed Canadian media for hyping the death of Chinese citizen Nurmuhemmet Tohti, saying some forces wantonly hyped and distorted the Xinjiang related issue with sinister intentions.

Tohti, who was mentioned by The Globe and Mail as saying he died after being denied medical treatment in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region's vocational education and training center, actually had never been at the center or arrested, according to a statement released by the Chinese Embassy to Canada on Wednesday.

Tohti has long been treated at a hospital and at home for heart disease, and on the evening of May 31 he died on the way to the hospital, the statement said. 

On December 14, 2018, for participating in illegal religious activities, Tohti was asked to live at a designated place under surveillance by local public security and the relevant measures were lifted on March 10, 2019.

Tohit's novels mentioned by The Globe and Mail actually lean toward extremism in some parts.

But according to the article published by The Globe and Mail on Tuesday titled "Alberta family grapples with fate of Uyghurs in China," Tohti had been detained and taken to an "indoctrination camp" in Xinjiang in November 2018. Tohti was only released in March 2019, but being in custody was fatal for his health condition. 

The article also said that Tohti's novels mentioned issues such as corrupt officials and desertification of Uyghur land.

"By fabricating stories and adopting a double standard, some international anti-China forces wantonly hype and distort the Xinjiang related issue with sinister intentions," the Chinese embassy said. 

It added there is no so-called "indoctrination camp" in Xinjiang. The vocational education and training centers legally operating in Xinjiang are a preventive counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measure and receive remarkable results. 

No terrorist attacks happened in Xinjiang over the last three years. Many foreign government officials, diplomats and journalists have visited the vocational education and training centers in person.