An analysis of American interference in Xinjiang affairs under the context of human rights protectio

Farmers pick megranates in Pishan County of Hotan, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Oct. 8, 2020. In summer and autumn, the vast land in Xinjiang embraces the harvest season. (Photo by Adil Nadir/Xinhua)

Population is afundamental, overarching and strategic issue faced by human society. People's understanding of population issues has always been changing with the development of economy and society and the progress of science and technology. Under the initiative of the United Nations,national governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations have held a large number of international conferences on population issuesin order to increase common concern over population issues, realize shared perception of population developmentand jointly promote population development. At the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo, the United Nations adopted the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, clarifying the correlation among population, sustained economic growth and sustainable development. The adoption of the Programme of Action not only indicated an inseparable relationship between population and development, but also means that promoting population development while realizing sustainable development is of great necessity. Therefore, population development not only refers to the changes in number, quality, structure and distribution of population and the development of theirrelations, but also involves the changes in the interaction between population and economy, society, resources and environment.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China over 70 years ago, the Chinese government has always been adopting a perspective of population in the deployment of economic development strategies, formulation of social development policies and investigation of resource and environmental issues, attaching importance to and adjusting the relationships between population and economy, society, resource, environment and other factors. Xinjiang belongs to China. The populationsituation inXinjiang, like that of other parts ofChina, has always beenapriority of the Chinese government. At present, Xinjiang is in a golden period of prosperity and development, with sustained economic development, harmonious and stable society, and people living and working in peace and contentment. However, in order to realize its ulterior political purpose, the United States has repeatedly fabricated lies of China "violating human rights of ethnic minorities" under the pretext of human rights. In the western countries' public opinion campaign againstChina'sXinjiang, some scholars have conducted a lot of academic activities disregardingthe reality in Xinjiang. In June 2020, the German scholar Adrian Zenz published a research report through Jamestown Foundation titled Sterilizations, IUDs, and Mandatory Birth Control: The CCP's Campaign to Suppress Uygur Birthrates in Xinjiang (later referred to as "the report"), which is filled with distorted facts, undetailed information and data of unknown sources. It can be regarded as another attempt to defameXinjiang from the perspective of population.

I. Expose lies disguised with so-called "truth"

A lie is a nonfactual statement intended to deceive. Some American politicians believe that "a lie told a thousand timesbecomesthe truth", but the lies disguised with so-called "truth" are bound to be exposed by the truth itself. In recent years, some U.S. politicians have repeatedly used human rights as an excuse to wantonly interfere in China's internal affairs, citing fact-distorting research reports written by anti-China scholars concerning the so-called issues of Xinjiang and Hong Kong, etc. For example, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo quoted the anti-China scholar Adrian Zenz's so-called research reports on Xinjiang for multiple times in his Xinjiang-related remarks. Therefore, the following parts will begin with an analysis on Adrian Zenz's latest "report" published in June 2020 by the Jamestown Foundation, and then on Adrian Zenz himself and his viewpoints according tothepopulation changes in Xinjiang "discovered" by Adrian Zenz, so as to further understand the ulterior motives ofsomeAmerican politicians.

1. Know Adrian Zenz as a "scholar"

In the Editor's Note of the report, Dr.Adrian Zenz is described as "one of the world's leading scholars on People's Republic of China (PRC) government policies towards the country's western regions of Tibet and Xinjiang."（Quoted from Adrian Zenz's report.） If that were true, Dr.Adrian Zenz should be a scholar of extraordinary academic influence. However, in recent years, he has produced several "research reports" on Xinjiang and drawn the absurd conclusion that Xinjiang's total re-education internment figure is estimated atjustoveronemillion.Also, we canknow more about him through the information given by other foreign media. According to an article published on the independent news website "The Grayzone",AdrianZenz is actually a far-right fundamentalist Christian and evangelical zealot. He is a senior fellow in China studies at the far-right organization named Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, which was established by the U.S. government in 1983. He is also the backbone of the Research Group on Xinjiang's Education and Training Centers, an academic body allegedly set up and controlled by U.S. intelligence agencies. Based on the above analysis, we can say Adrian Zenz is a "scholar" supported by the United States to make anti-China remarks.The opinion that Adrian Zenz is one of the world's leading scholars on China policies towards Tibet and Xinjiang is obviously untenable.

2. A closer look at the Editor's Note of the report published by Jamestown Foundation

An editor is a person who compiles a journal in which an article or report is published, and an editor's note is a brief introduction to the article or report to be published. Any article or report with theoretical or practical significance will be reviewed by the editor beforepublication. This review process involves an evaluation of the authenticity, scientificity, practicality, etc. However, inAdrian Zenz'slatest report published in June 2020, the editor commented that the report is a detailed analysis of  "China's measures to forcibly suppress birthrates among ethnic Uygur communities", including "the mass application of mandatory birth control and sterilizations", so as to"reduce the Uygur population in Xinjiang relative to the numbers of ethnic Han Chinese—and thereby topromote more rapid Uygur assimilation into the 'Chinese Nation-Race'."（Quoted from Adrian Zenz's report.） However, according to the statistics released by the Statistical Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,Xinjiang's total population at the end of 2018 was 24.8676 million.From 1978 to 2018, the population of ethnic Uygurs in Xinjiang has increased from 5.5553 million to 11.6786 million, accounting for 46.96 percent of the total population of Xinjiang at the end of the year,over2 times the population 40 years ago.( http://tjj.xinjiang.gov.cn/tjj/rkjyu/202006/a3217a0ca4df493c960de1a0e2bcf4fe.shtml）Therefore,I wonder where does the editor's statement of Chinese government intends to "reduce the Uygurpopulationin Xinjiang" come from.We are also wonderingwhether thereview standardsapplied bythe Jamestown Foundation editorsare reliable.

China is a unified country of multi-ethnicity. In the course of jointly building, developing, consolidating and reunifying the country, different ethnic groups have converged into a diversified yet integrated Chinese nation. The relationship between the Chinese nation andallethnic groups is that of a big family and its members. Xinjiang is one of the multi-ethnic areas in China with local ethnicities live and work together in the big family of the Chinese nation. They are economically interdependent, culturally connected and emotionallyintimate. In the big family of the Chinese nation, the ethnic Uygurs and other ethnic groups have shown mutual affinity and mutual assistance to each other. The editor's assumption that China is "promoting more rapid Uygur assimilation into the 'Chinese Nation-Race'" is sheer nonsense. To sum up, the Editor's Note rests on no fact andthe hiddenintentions are easy to see.

3. An analysis of Adrian Zenz's arguments

Researches conducted from the perspective of population are of great practical significance since they function as an important indicator of studying the population quantity,quality, structure, distribution and economic and social development in local areas. Therefore, such researches should not only be scientific, forward-looking and sustainable, but also objective, impartial and precise. Only scientific research based onobjectivefacts can accurately reflect theactualpopulation situation .

In Adrian Zenz's report, each of the anti-China arguments is  carefully embellished as so-called "research findings". He clearly understands the importance of population development to regional development, so he tried his best to fabricate a series of lies, disregarding the spirit of science. In the report,Adrian Zenz began his exposition with Xinjiang's population situation and put much effort on fabricating the following outrageous lies.

Lie No.1:  "Natural population growth in Xinjiang has declined dramatically"(Quoted from Adrian Zenz's report.) since 2015.

According to the statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics and Statistical Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, from 2015 to 2017, Xinjiang's natural population growth rate remained stable at over 11‰. The above statement of Adrian Zenz is not consistent with official statistics. Compared with the natural population growth rates of the previous 3 years, although the natural population growth rate in Xinjiang dropped to 6.13‰ in 2018, it is still at a relatively high level in relationto the national average level. There is no such dramatic decline as Adrian Zenzstated. Natural population growth rate is an important indicator to reflect the speed of population development. Compared with the average national natural population growth rates in recent years, Xinjiang's growth rate of 6.13‰ in 2018 is in a reasonable range.

 

Lie No. 2: "In 2018, natural population growth plummeted: to 4.06‰ in all minority regions and 2.58‰ in Kashgar  and Hotan."（Quoted from Adrian Zenz's report.）Sources: National Bureau of Statistics（http://data.stats.gov.cn/easyquery.htm?cn=C01 )and Statistical Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

 

Lie No.3: "Population growth rates in a Uygur region where Han constitute the majority were nearly 8 times higher than in the surrounding rural Uygur regions (in 2018)."（Quoted from Adrian Zenz's report.）

When mentioning the net population change rate for the Hans have increased to 7.42‰, Adrian Zenz used the word "estimate", which means it is an inaccurate assumption. Perhaps Adrian Zenz feels guilty about his lies, so he used vague terms to cover them up. As is known, Xinjiang is a multi-ethnic region where many ethnic groups reside in addition to the Hans and the Uygurs. The Uygur population in Xinjiang from 1978 to 2018 did not decrease asAdrian Zenz said, but showed an upward trend.

Table 3: Ethnic populations in Xinjiang in main years from 1978-2018 Unit: million

According to the data provided by Statistical Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in Table 3, from 1978 to 2018, the Uygur population in Xinjiang has been larger than that of the Han population all the time. In 2018, the Uygur population in Xinjiang was 11.6786 million, while the Han population in Xinjiang was7.8574 million. From a diachronic perspective, theratio of Uygur population to Han population in Xinjiang has always been higher than 1, ranging from 1.08:1 in 1978 to 1.49:1 in 2018, as shown in Table 3.These data show that the Uygur population in Xinjiang remained higher than the Han population from 1978 to 2018.In addition, Chart 1 offers a visual presentationofthe changes of Uygur and Han populations in Xinjiang. It is not hard to see that compared with the Han population in Xinjiang, the Uygur population in Xinjiang has been on the rise over the past 40 years. Against the background that the population of ethnic Uygurs in Xinjiang is on the rise, I wonder how Adrian Zenz came to the absurd conclusion that the growth rate of Han population is 8 times that of the Uygur population. Zenz's blatant disrespect forfacts allowspeople to raise questions about his so-called "research significance".

Lie No.4: "Net population change for Kashgar and Hotan was even lower, at 0.22‰ (and -0.25‰ for all minority counties). Meanwhile,increases in permanent resident populations boosted estimated net population change in Han majority counties to 7.42‰."（Quoted from Adrian Zenz's report.）

When debunking Lie No.3, we have expatiated the population data of Xinjiang's ethnic groups over the past 40 years, so I will not repeat it here. One thing to be sure of is that Adrian Zenz's statement of "increases in permanent resident populations boosted estimated net population change in Han majority counties to 7.42‰" is groundless, with neither fact nor data to support. Concerning the low net population growth rate mentioned by Adrian Zenz, according to the statistics released by the Statistical Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the natural population growth rates of all cities and counties in south Xinjiang's four prefectures remained positive in 2018. According to the data in Table 3, it can be calculated that the average natural population growth rate of the 28 counties in the four prefectures in south Xinjiang is 4.80‰. To be specific, the average natural population growth rate of Kashgar's 11 counties is 5.53‰, Aksu's 7 counties 4.48‰, Hotan's 7 counties 2.94‰, Kizilsu's 3 counties 7.25‰.

According tothe above analysis, neitherbased onthe average natural population growth rate of the 28 counties in south Xinjiang's four prefectures (5.53‰) nor onthe average natural population growth rates of the counties under the four prefectures can we draw a conclusion that the net population growth rate is "-0.25‰ for all minority counties" as Adrian Zenz put it. His statement that "net population change for Kashgar and Hotan was even lower, at 0.22‰" is also inconsistent with the actual situation in Kashgar and Hotan. It is against the spirit of science that he uses false data to substantiate his report for the purpose of defaming China.

 

Lie No.5:  "For 2020, one Uygur region set an unprecedented near-zero population growth target: a mere 1.05 per mille, compared to an already low 11.45 per mille in 2018."（Quoted from Adrian Zenz's report.）

Again, it turns out that Adrian Zenz tampered with the figures of relevant documents released by Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture to complete his report. As can be seeninthe budget report from the Health Commission of Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture in Chart 2, under the first-level target "Completion target", the natural population growth rate of the second-level target "Quality" is set at 1.05%. It is worth noting here that the unit used in this document is per cent. In other words, when the unit is converted from per cent to per mille, the natural population growth rate should be 10.5‰. When debunking Lie No.2, we have mentioned the natural population growth rate of Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture in 2018 is 11.45 ‰, which means the rate mentioned this document is reduced by only 0.95 per-millage. Therefore, Adrian Zenz's statement that the natural population growth rate is "a mere 1.05 per mille, compared to an already low 11.45 per mille in 2018" is actually a confusion of measurement unit so as to fabricate lies in his report.

Adrian Zenz, we can see that in order to make the lies in his report appear authentic, he has adopted such methods as arbitrarily tampering with data, confusing measurement units, using ambiguous concepts and being vague about sources, etc. Moreover, Adrian Zenz never indicated the name and source of the government documents he mentioned in his report, let alone basic introductions to the reliability and authenticity of the documents. In addition, there is no further elaboration of the relevant documents in the full text, making the sources of his so-called "systematic analysis of government documents" unreliable. We are even wondering whether the data sources were simply made up to support his arguments.

II. Present truth based on facts

Population is considered endogenous to economic growth, and is closely related to economic and social development. Populationsituationplays an importantrole in optimizing resource allocation, promoting trade circulation and enhancing economic vitality. The economic and social development of Xinjiang bears on the well-being of the people of all ethnic groups there, and the populationsituationof all ethnic groups is of great significance to the economic and social development of Xinjiang.

1. Analysis of Xinjiang's population situation based on population growth trend

According to the statistics released by the Statistical Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the year-end resident population of Xinjiang totals12.3301 million in 1978, 18.4941 million in 2000,24.8676 million in 2018.Comparedwith 1978 and 2000, Xinjiang'syear-end resident population in 2018 increased by 12.5375 millionand 6.3735 million respectively.Looking at the growth trend of Xinjiang's Uygur population, the number was 5.5553 million in 1978, 8.5233 million in 2000, and 11.6786 million in 2018. Compared with 1978 and 2000, Xinjiang's Uygur population in 2018 increased by 6.1233 million and 3.1553 million respectively. Looking at the growth trend of Xinjiang's Han population, the number was 5.129 million in 1978, 7.2508 million in 2000, 7.8574 million in 2018. Compared with 1978 and 2000,Xinjiang's Han population in 2018 increased by 2.7284 million and 6.066 million respectively. It is clear that there was an upward trend in Xinjiang's total year-end resident population, boththe populationof theUygursand of the Hans.

Concerning the health development of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, since the founding ofthePeople's Republic of China in 1949, physical fitness of the ethnic populations in Xinjiang has been greatly improved thanks to the rapid development of the medical and health care system. According to the statistics released by the Statistical Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the death rate in Xinjiang dropped from 20.82‰ in 1949 to 4.56‰ in 2018, a drop of 16.26‰. It demonstratesthatthe right to health of Xinjiang's ethnic populations has been effectively protected.

2. Analysis of Xinjiang's population situation based on population structure

According to the data released by the Statistical Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, over the 40 years from 1978 to 2018, the ratio of male to female in Xinjiang remained stable. As Table5 shows, from 1978 to 2017, the male population in Xinjiang remained slightly larger than the female population. In 2018, the female population in Xinjiang surpassed the male population for the first time in 40 years. According to the statistics, in 2018, there were 12.3983 million men in Xinjiang, accounting for 49.86% of the total population; the female population was 12.4693 million, accounting for 50.14%. However, looking at the gender composition in Xinjiang over the past 40 years, the proportion of maletofemale remained an overall balance. Therefore,we can say gender selection is almost non-existent in Xinjiang.

 

3. Analysis of Xinjiang's population situation based on educational levels

A thriving education makes a thriving country and a powerful education makes a powerful country. Thesituationof higher education is an important indicator of a country or region'sdevelopmentand potential. Presently, Xinjiang is in the golden period of development, and the need for science and talents becomes more urgent than ever. According to the Statistical Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the number of students in Xinjiang's institutions of higher learning was 10,229 in 1978, and the figure rose to 398,751 in 2018. That is to say, from 1978 to 2018, the number of students in institutions of higher learning in Xinjiang increased by 388,522. From a diachronic perspective, as shown in Chart 3, the number of students in institutions of higher learning in Xinjiang has been increasing year by year since 1978. The number went straight upespeciallyafter2000.The datasuggeststhatthe right to education of people of all ethnic groups inXinjiang has been effectively protected.

 

III. Conclusion

To respect and protect human rights is prescribed by the Constitution of China. At present, China's Xinjiang has made new progress in the cause of human rights. However, some western politicians and anti-China "scholars" are fabricating all kinds of lies relating to Xinjiang affairs and other Chinese affairs out of ideological bias or 
other ulterior purposes. No matter how the lies are beautified, they will always be debunked when faced with the truth. Throughan analysis ofthe populationdata, this paperoffers a clear presentation ofXinjiang’s actualpopulationsituation. It is undoubtedly a powerful response to the western politicians and "scholars" smearing Xinjiang's human rights situation from the perspective of population.

As a product of historical conditions, human rights is bound to develop with the development of historical conditions. At present, Xinjiang is in the golden period of prosperity and development. The rapid economic development in Xinjiang has laid a solid material foundation to the cause of human rights in Xinjiang, andthe harmonious and stable society have provided favorable social conditions. The positive momentum of Xinjiang's populationsituationis a strong proof that the human rights of people of all ethnicities in Xinjiang have been guaranteed and promoted all the time. The people of all ethnicities in Xinjiang have a common goal of pushing for continuous progress of human rights, and they will work together to strengthen the protection of human rights and promote the progress of human rights among people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.