The Chinese embassy in Turkey recently sent out a tweet attacking two Turkish dignitaries who denounced Beijing’s persecution of Uighurs, causing a public outcry that involved thousands of Turkish netizens and led to the Chinese ambassador being summoned by the Turkish Foreign Ministry. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian today backed up the Chinese ambassador to Turkey, saying he was “beyond reproach” for what he had done.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responded to the incident of the Chinese ambassador being summoned by the Turkish Foreign Ministry at a regular press conference on April 7 afternoon. According to the Central News Agency (CNA), Zhao Lijian said that some Turkish individuals on Twitter recently “openly advocated for terrorists, challenged China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and even openly incited wrongful comments to split China”. The Chinese embassy in Turkey firstly stated China’s solemn position that “the relevant response of the Chinese embassy in Turkey is fully justified and reasonable and beyond reproach”.
Zhao Lijian also said that Turkey itself has long suffered from terrorism and separatist forces, and that China hopes that people from all walks of life in Turkey will “correctly, rationally and objectively view China’s firm position on safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as its counter-terrorism and de-extremization initiatives, and work with China to safeguard the overall situation of China-Turkey strategic cooperation relations with practical actions. “.
Turkey’s two major opposition political figures, Meral Aksener, leader of the nationalist Good Party (Iyi Party), and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas, a member of the left-wing Republican People’s Party (CHP), sent separate messages on April 5 in response to the Xinjiang Uighur “Barren Township Uprising. Ms. Aksena said, “I’m sorry, but I’m sorry. Ms. Aksena said, “We will not forget our imprisoned brothers and we will not remain silent about their persecution. East Turkestan (the Uyghur name for the Xinjiang region) will definitely be free one day.” .
The Chinese Embassy in Turkey declared in two Twitter posts on June 6: “It is an internationally accepted and indisputable fact that the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region is an inseparable part of China’s territory” and “China firmly opposes and strongly condemns any person or force challenging China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. China reserves the right to make legitimate responses”. The tweets also tagged Aksenar and Yavas.
The two tweets angered Turkish users and were scrubbed, and eight hours after they were sent, one of them had been scrubbed with more than 8,000 messages, mostly criticizing the embassy for violating diplomatic protocol and crossing a red line.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador to Turkey, Liu Shaobin, to express his displeasure.
According to another AFP report from Ankara, several NGOs and countries have accused China of persecuting Uighurs, particularly in detention camps, where members of the minority have been subjected to various abuses, according to survivor testimonies.
Beijing authorities reject these allegations and refer to these detention facilities as “professional training centers.
An estimated 50,000 Uighurs fleeing persecution have found refuge in Turkey, which has long been one of the main defenders of the Uighur cause against China.
But some observers believe Ankara has recently become less critical of Beijing in order to preserve economic ties with the country and rely on China’s coronavirus vaccine.
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