NEWS//China strikes back
China has reacted swiftly and potently to reports in Western media that it has launched a campaign of torture, slave labor, and genocide against Muslims in Xinjiang Province, as well as Tibetans and adherents of some religious sects.
China's reactions include:
Recalling their diplomats: AP reported that on March 23, China "summoned foreign diplomats in protest after the United States, the European Union, Canada and Britain jointly imposed sanctions on senior Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses in China’s far western Xinjiang region." The article added, "Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying on Tuesday called the new sanctions a 'slander and an affront to the reputation and dignity of the Chinese people.' …I admonish them that they should not underestimate the firm determination of the Chinese people to defend their national interests and dignity, and they will pay the price for their folly and arrogance."
Retaliation against brands that refuse to do business in China: ABCNews reported on March 25, "Chinese state TV called Thursday for a boycott of H&M as Beijing lashed out at foreign clothing and footwear brands following Western sanctions on Chinese officials accused of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region….” Chinese media company CE.CN reported, "The Ministry of Commerce responded to H&M's boycott of Xinjiang cotton: hoping they will correct wrong practices and avoid politicization of business issues." Also caught up in this row are Nike, Adidas, and Burberry. For spreading what China labels as lies, the BBC is also a target.
Campaign to discredit witnesses: Reuters reported, “Chinese officials have named women, disclosed what they say is private medical data and information on the women’s fertility, and accused some of having affairs and one of having a sexually transmitted disease. The officials said the information was evidence of bad character, invalidating the women’s accounts of abuse in Xinjiang. “To rebuke some media’s disgusting acts, we have taken a series of measures,” Xu Guixiang, the deputy head of Xinjiang’s publicity department, told a December news conference that was part of China’s pushback campaign. It includes hours-long briefings, with footage of Xinjiang residents and family members reading monologues.
Hackers targeted Facebook to harass Uighurs. On March 24, Facebook revealed that Chinese hackers had carried out "a wide range of threats including cyber espionage campaigns, influence operations and hacking of our platform." The hackers "targeted activists, journalists and dissidents predominantly among Uyghurs from Xinjiang in China primarily living abroad in Turkey, Kazakhstan, the United States, Syria, Australia, Canada and other countries." The hackers used a number of strategies. For example,
Compromising and impersonating news websites. Through these websites, the hackers installed malicious software on users' computers.
Social engineering. Hackers posed as journalists, students, human rights advocates, or members of the Uyghur community to build trust with people they targeted and trick them into clicking on malicious links."