Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on June 30, 2020 |
2020-06-30 19:51 |
CCTV: On June 29, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a State Department press statement that as Beijing moves forward with passing the national security law in Hong Kong, the United States will today end exports of US-origin defense equipment and will take steps toward imposing the same restrictions on US defense and dual-use technologies to Hong Kong as it does for China's mainland. The US Department of Defense issued a similar statement. What is your comment? Zhao Lijian: On Hong Kong's national security legislation, the Chinese side has made clear its solemn position on many occasions. It is China's internal affair and no foreign country has any right to interfere. The Chinese government is determined in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, in implementing the "one country, two systems" policy, and in opposing external forces' interference in Hong Kong affairs. Intimidation does not work on China. The US wants to wield the so-called sanctions to obstruct China's legislation process to safeguard national security in Hong Kong. Such attempts will never succeed. As regards the wrong moves by the US side, China will take necessary retaliatory measures to resolutely safeguard its national interests. China News Service: According to information released by the US Department of Defense on June 26, Adm. James Foggo, Commander of NATO Allied Joint Force Command Naples and US Naval Forces Europe-Africa, said at a webinar sponsored by the International Institute of Strategic Studies that China's whole-of-government approach has expanded out of the Indo-Pacific into the Arctic, Europe and Africa, and China is actively working in Europe and Africa to subvert the international rules-based infrastructure that has maintained peace since the end of World War II. What is your comment? Zhao Lijian: Speaking of "whole-of-government approach", don't you think it is rather a fitting description of the US itself? With the remarks you mentioned, the US is trying to blame the innocent party for what it is guilty of. The world can see through its vicious intention. China urges the US to abandon the Cold War mentality and zero sum game mindset, stop presuming others' behavior based on its own pattern, and stop wantonly criticizing and denigrating China. We hope it will work to promote world peace, stability and prosperity. Global Times: On June 29, US Secretary of State Pompeo issued a statement on Xinjiang, saying that according to German researcher Adrian Zenz, the Chinese government is using forced sterilization, forced abortion, and coercive family planning against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang, as part of a continuing campaign of repression. Does China have any comment? Zhao Lijian: Mr. Pompeo is a brazen liar. The Chinese government equally protects the legitimate rights and interests of people of all ethnic groups, including ethnic minorities. In fact, our population policy has long been leaning toward ethnic minorities. From 1978 to 2018, the population of Uyghurs in Xinjiang grew from 5.55 million to 11.68 million, registering a 2.1 times increase and accounting for about 46.8 percent of the total population of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. If Mr. Pompeo is telling the truth, how can he explain the big increase in the Uyghur population? Now if we look at the US, ethnic minorities have long been suffering from bullying, exclusion and wide, systemic discrimination in economic, cultural, social and other aspects. Let's take American Indians for example. The US government has been implementing genocide, racial segregation and assimilation policies on them. In nearly a century after the country was founded, the US expelled and killed a large number of Indians through the Westward Expansion. At the beginning of the 20th century, the population of native |