China has hit back at international accusations of human rights abuses and repression of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang by releasing a music propaganda film filled with traditional songs and dances from the region that seeks to show the world the beautiful scenery, prosperity and stability of Xinjiang and the harmony between Uighurs and Han Chinese, AFP said, adding that the music propaganda film does not show any signs of Uighurs being suppressed by abuses.
According to an AFP report today, China is officially releasing a music propaganda film tomorrow of the beautiful scenery and social prosperity of Xinjiang, contrasting with criticism from many international capitals that China is trampling on the human rights of Uighurs in Xinjiang.
China is at war with the West over the Xinjiang controversy. The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions on past and current Chinese officials accused of violating the human rights of Uighurs in Xinjiang.
In the face of Western accusations, Chinese officials have stepped up their media campaign against Xinjiang as a counter-attack. A film titled “The Wings of Songs” (“Les ailes des chants”) is scheduled for release tomorrow, Sunday, and will feature a Hollywood blockbuster of Xinjiang’s postcard-worthy landscape, with absolutely no controversial images, including cameras, street barriers to prevent riots, security checkpoints and heavily armed police. The film features the usual Xinjiang stability settings, such as cameras, barricades, security checkpoints and heavily armed police.
AFP said Chinese authorities have imposed tight security controls in Xinjiang for years following terrorist attacks allegedly perpetrated by Uighur terrorist separatist forces.
The film also makes no mention of Islamic content, including mosques, or of the majority Muslim population in Xinjiang, or of Uighur women wearing sarongs. One scene in the film shows a Muslim with a shaved beard clinking a beer bottle in his hand, ignoring the Islamic prohibition on drinking alcohol.
According to AFP, the film focuses on the rapprochement between Uighurs and Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Tajiks and Han Chinese. The people of the aforementioned minorities are dressed in ethnic costumes, singing and dancing in a beautiful landscape of mountains and grasslands in bright colors. I have been to Xinjiang, the film is very real, and I have many Uighur friends and have stayed in their homes, said a business card holder. AFP said the film did not report the identity of the speaker’s name. According to him, in Xinjiang, people are happy, free and open. He refuted claims of forced labor.
AFP said the topic of cotton in Xinjiang has recently sparked controversy. Several foreign brands, notably the famous Swedish clothing company H&M, took a stand last year to reject Xinjiang cotton because of the forced labor controversy there. According to an audience member in his 40s, cotton picking is a traditional local labor project that also allows the population to earn some money.
A nationalist rap, widely circulated in official Chinese media, condemns Western colonial lies about cotton in Xinjiang. Official Chinese television stations also widely broadcast images of the high degree of mechanization of cotton picking in Xinjiang to refute Western allegations of forced labor for cotton in Xinjiang.
AFP said that Chinese social media platforms are full of film content of the beautiful landscape of Xinjiang, a large number of aerial photos of Xinjiang by drones, showing the beautiful scenery called the real Xinjiang. A film exhibition held in Beijing showed Xinjiang residents happy and smiling. However, the propaganda has been criticized in China for arousing the curiosity of not many people.
The official propaganda points to Xinjiang’s progress as a change from its remote location in China, where development has long lagged. The development of Xinjiang is the main reason and argument of the Chinese officials. Chinese officials emphasize the importance of protecting jobs in Xinjiang. China has been accused by human rights groups of concentrating more than a million people in Xinjiang, which it counters with vocational training camps designed to help people in Xinjiang find employment and stay away from radical religions.
AFP said it is impossible for foreign media to work independently in Xinjiang, and that foreign journalists are often followed because they are targeted for harassment for reporting on them. Larry Ong, who is based at SinoInsider in the United States, commented that creating an image of Guan Rong is a traditional Chinese Communist Party propaganda technique. He added that the Chinese Communist Party knows that a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth.
Recent Comments