BEIJING: The Chinese side expresses its strong condemnation of a motion related to Xinjiang passed by the British House of Commons, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Britain said.

“A handful of British MPs cooked up this motion on Xinjiang in disregard of facts and common sense with a view to discrediting and attacking China.

“This move gravely violates international law and the basic norms governing international relations and grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs. The Chinese side firmly opposes this and expresses its strong condemnation, ” said the spokesperson in a statement.

The spokesperson stressed the so-called “genocide” against Uygurs in Xinjiang is a flat-out lie that violates international law.”

No country, organisation, or individual is qualified or entitled to determine arbitrarily that another country has committed ‘genocide’.

No country should use this accusation in a political game of rumour-mongering and malicious manipulation, ” said the spokesperson.

The so-called “genocide” is an outrageous smear against the development achievements of Xinjiang and China’s Xinjiang-related policies, said the spokesperson.

“The Xinjiang-related issues are in essence about countering violent terrorism, radicalisation and separatism, and they bear on China’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security, said the spokesperson.

“Thanks to the concerted efforts of people of all ethnic groups, there has been no violent terrorist case in Xinjiang for over four years in a run.”

The spokesperson noted that the population of Uygurs in Xinjiang has kept growing in recent years.People of all ethnic groups in the region fully enjoy the rights to life and development, said the spokesperson, adding that the spoken and written languages, traditional cultures and customs of all ethnic groups are well protected and carried forward.

“There is no ‘genocide’ in Xinjiang and China has never committed the so-called ‘crimes against humanity’.

“The ‘genocide’ smear campaign against Xinjiang is sheer political manipulation in the name of human rights, ” said the spokesperson.

 - Xinhua