A performance is held at the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar to celebrate the New Year in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 31, 2019. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)
China on Thursday "resolutely" opposed the U.S. accusations on China's human rights issues and the government's Xinjiang policies, calling it "a mere repetition of an old tune."
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized the Chinese government's Xinjiang policies during the presentation of the U.S. State Department annual report on human rights Wednesday.
The China-related content of the report deliberately ignores facts and confounds right with wrong, Geng said at a press briefing.
He said remarkable progress has been made in China's human rights cause since the establishment of the People's Republic of China, and the Chinese government, as always, attaches great importance to protecting and promoting human rights.
"The Chinese people have the greatest say about China's human rights condition, which is at its historical best," Geng said.
Noting that China's human rights progress is there for all to see, Geng said the achievements could not be simply vilified by a report or a few words from certain U.S. individuals.
He also stressed that Xinjiang affairs are purely China's internal affairs and can not be interfered with by any external force.
Geng said the Chinese government has taken counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures in Xinjiang in accordance with laws, which has been endorsed and supported by people of all ethnic groups and commended by the international community.
"The U.S. side has no right to make wanton remarks on this issue," he said, urging the U.S. side to reflect upon and correct its wrongdoing, and stop using human rights issues to interfere in China's domestic affairs.
