Although they claim to be so-called human right guardians, many overseas human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders have been confusing right and wrong, and ignoring justice in the reports about the July 5 riots in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Six lies from these reports again expose the "double standards" they adopt in the press.

Lie NO. 1: The July 5 violence was a peaceful assemble

Amnesty International said that protesters were "peacefully expressing their views and exercising their freedom of expression, association and assembly".

However, what happened on July 5 in Xinjiang was a brutal event of widespread looting, assault, arson and murder. The death toll rose to 197 with serious property damage. Two hundred and sixty vehicles were smashed and torched and 209 stores and two buildings were burned, covering 56,850 square meters. It was the deadliest unrest in Xinjiang since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The July 5 violence directly targeted innocent people and goes against the basic principle of human morals to show sympathy to those sabotaging social stability and exercising the act of violence. However, these human rights guardianrs seem to disregard the facts and figures. The way they described the riots as “peaceful” clearly proves how hypocritical the guardians are.

Lie NO. 2: The Chinese government suppressed Uygurs by force

An article titled China: Exercise Restraint in Xinjiang on the Human Rights Watch website condemned the Chinese government and said, "In responding to protests, China should respect universal norms on proportionate use of force and refraining from the use of deadly force except where necessary to protect life…"

The fact is when the unrest took place, the local and the central government dispatched the Chinese People's Army Police Force to conduct security missions, restored public order and arrested the criminals.

Many western countries never hesitated to call up their forces to crack down on riots in order to protect their own civilians in history, such as the Los Angeles Riots of 1992 in the US and the turbulence that lasted over 10 days in France in 2005 that spread to hundreds of towns. This has proved to be an efficient way of establishing order quickly.

The right to life and security of its citizens is protected by Chinese law. The Chinese government took control of the riots in accordance with international laws and should deserve a fair report.

Lie NO. 3: The Chinese government intervened in judicial procedure

Most of the criminals have been arrested. The judicial department is carrying out a strict procedure to collect evidence and conduct trials. From putting the case on file for investigation to prosecution, legal procedure has been ongoing step-by-step.

The masterminds of the riots will be severely punished regardless of their family background or ethnicity. Also, the defendants' right to defend and hire a lawyer will be guaranteed by Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China.

Lie NO. 4: The Chinese media twisted the facts in their riots coverage.

Human Rights Watch said it was unlikely the Chinese government would provide an objective account of the protests and of the actions of the security forces given its history of covering up state abuses.

The Chinese government responded to the riots very swiftly by releasing the death toll figures and updating the news. Chinese media acted responsibly and posted reports for the outside world.

On the contrary, foreign media presented hostile accounts of the deadly riots and even fabricated facts to attack China with unfaithful pictures and videos that were carefully chosen to mislead readers.

An example is Rebiya Kadeer's interview with the Qatar Al Jazeera in which she held a fake photo to illustrate how the Chinese army dealt with the protest. Another picture used in western media to show the Chinese army's crackdown on the protesters turned out to be a photo of car accident in Hangzhou.

It is unfortunately none of these fake photos were exposed or criticized by human rights guardians, which displays the "double standard" in their riots coverage.

Lie NO. 5: Uygurs have been suffering from ethnic repression and violation of human rights

Human Rights Watch claims that the Chinese government is directing a crushing campaign of religious repression against China's Muslim Uygurs.

However, the fact is Uygurs can enjoy preferential policies in terms of marriageable age, family planning and other areas. For example, herdsmen can have three children. The population in this region has soared from 3.29 million in 1949 to 9.41 million now.

In terms of economy, the GDP of this autonomous region reached 420.34 billion yuan in 2008 with a growth rate 2 percent higher than that of the national GDP. The per capita GDP has increased to 19,893 yuan from more than 100 yuan in 1949.

In terms of education, the number of the schools increased 5.8 times with 8,076 schools enrolling 4.40 million students, among which students of minority nationalities account for 57.4 percent. This is progress compared to 60 years ago.

The Uygur language is widely used in education and media. The basic medical insurance system, unemployment insurance, pension fund, maternity insurance and employment injury insurance have covered 10 million people.

Uygurs stand equal with Han people in this region, enjoying the same political, economic, cultural and social rights.

Lie NO. 6: The government exercises restraints on the freedom of religion in Xinjiang

Islamic religious services are respected and ensured in the law. To meet the demand of Muslims, the government authorizes publishing houses to translate the Quran and other Islamic classics. Religious institutes and organizations are encouraged to set up and train clergymen. Festivals such as the Corban and the Rozah are written into the law as Uygurs' holidays.

The government has been working on restoring and building Islamic mosques. There are up to 24,200 mosques and about 29,000 clergymen in Xinjiang. Many renovation projects received the allocation of national subsidies.

The nature of the July 5 violence jeopardized the unity of a nation and tried to separate it from Chinese territory. The irresponsible riot coverage from many human rights organizations and western media aims to damage China's international image and hinder the country's development. But in the near future they have to prepare themselves mentally and psychologically for an irreversible trend in history that the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will not be stopped by any evil forces.

Source: Global Times