Children have fun in the old town Tuancheng of Hotan city, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 27, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

It is absurd that the UK, a country that has committed so many crimes in history, is trying to lecture others on human rights, Xu Guixiang, spokesperson of the regional government of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said during a press conference on Monday. His remarks came in response to a series of provocations made by some British politicians on Xinjiang-related issues in recent years. 

"Have you ever been to Xinjiang? Do you know the actual situation here? Where does your confidence come from?" Xu directed the questions to British politicians. 

Xu said that some Western countries and certain politicians from the UK have tried through every means to accuse and blame Xinjiang, instead of showing understanding and support when the region faced crisis and took just action to fight terrorism. 

The UK's accusations against Xinjiang are absurd and contrary to the facts, said Xu, noting that Xinjiang's steady development has hit them in the face.

Instead of "repressing ethnic minorities," Xinjiang has successfully cracked down on violent and terrorist activities and the region has been without any terrorist attacks for more than four years in a row. Instead of "setting up 'concentration camps' and 'imprisoning' more than a million people," Xinjiang has achieved the highest number of students, attending what are actually training and education centers, that have graduated, found stable jobs and are living a happy life, Xu said.

At the press meeting, an expert on human rights form the Xinjiang University pointed out the human rights violations in the UK, saying the anti-Muslim sentiment in that country has become increasingly high and it is difficult to guarantee the basic political, economic, cultural and social rights of Muslims.

An independent report led by Swaran Singh, former Commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, revealed that "anti-Muslim sentiment remains a problem [within the UK's ruling Conservative Party,] judging by the extent of complaints and findings of misconduct by the party itself that relate to anti-Muslim words and conduct," according to a report by Bloomberg.

It is Britain itself that really deserves the title of sponsor of "genocide", "human rights violations" and "forced labor," said Xu, noting that a country like the UK, which has committed so many crimes in human history, is in no position to lecture others on human rights.

In July 2020, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab claimed that China violated the human rights of  the Uygur ethnic minority in Xinjiang by conducting "forced sterilizations." The Chinese Foreign Ministry refuted such claims saying it is "utter nonsense."

In April, the UK parliament voted to declare that China is committing genocide against the Uygur people in Xinjiang. In July, the UK's Foreign Affairs Committee published a report titled "Never Again: The UK's Responsibility to Act on Atrocities in Xinjiang and Beyond". The Chinese Embassy in the UK responded saying that the report is "nothing but a pack of disinformation" and "an attempt out of ulterior political motives to deliberately slander China's policy on Xinjiang and wantonly interfere in China's internal affairs."