China urges EU to stop weaponizing rights issues

China's Foreign Ministry on Monday strongly rejected the European Union's groundless accusation of China's human rights situation and urged the EU to stop politicizing and weaponizing human rights issues, after the EU delegation in China expressed "concerns" in a recent statement.

Speaking of the statement issued on Saturday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said it spreads a tremendous amount of disinformation about China, slanders China's image and severely interferes in China's domestic affairs.

"China deplores and strongly opposes this and has made solemn demarches to the EU side," Mao said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

Noting that the so-called "genocide" and "forced labor" in China have been proved to be big fabricated lies, Mao said China's human rights cause has seen historic progress. In Xinjiang and Xizang autonomous regions, the economy is booming, society is harmonious and cultural traditions are protected and promoted.

"The rights and freedoms of all ethnic groups, including the freedom of religious belief and the freedom in using and developing their own languages and characters, are fully guaranteed," Mao said.

The human rights situation in the EU, which has long pointed its fingers at developing countries in this regard, is worrisome given such phenomena as the severe rights abuses against refugees and immigrants and the rise of xenophobia and racism, she said.

"The EU side should face up to the progress of China's human rights cause, abandon its arrogance and bias against China, and discard its hypocritical practice of double standards," Mao said, urging the EU to improve its own human rights situation with concrete actions and stop using human rights issues as a pretext to interfere in China's domestic affairs and judicial sovereignty.

Countermeasures vowed

Also at Monday's news briefing, Mao vowed to resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard the legitimate and lawful rights of Chinese citizens and companies, after the United States unilaterally sanctioned two Chinese officials and firms over so-called human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

"Washington is attempting to undermine Xinjiang's prosperity and stability and suppressing China's development by adding Chinese entities and individuals to the sanctions list in accordance with US domestic law," Mao said, adding that it only exposed its vicious intent of using Xinjiang to contain China.