It's not about human rights: China hits back at U.S. Uygur bill signed by Donald Trump

Just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a bill targeting the "human rights" of Uygur ethnic minorities in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Beijing issued a formal statement pronouncing its "strong indignation and firm opposition."

"Issues in Xinjiang are nothing about human rights, ethnicity or religion, but combating violence, terrorism and separatism," said the Chinese Foreign Ministry in a release published on Thursday.

"The move (the U.S. bill) also flagrantly interfered in China's internal affairs," the ministry said.

GDP of China's northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from 1990 to 2017.

Official data shows that as of last year, the Chinese authorities have successfully contained 1,588 violent and terrorist gangs, arrested 12,995 terrorists, and confiscated 345,229 copies of illegal religious materials.

'Re-education camps?'

Dubbed as the "Uyghur (Uygur) Human Rights Policy Act of 2020," the law signed by Trump on Wednesday local time legitimizes greater U.S. scrutiny of human rights-related issues in Xinjiang.

The act would also tighten export controls on technology that could be used to "suppress individual privacy, freedom of movement and other basic human rights."

A group of reporters from 24 countries visit a vocational educational center in Moyu County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, July 22, 2019. /Xinhua

U.S. officials have long shed doubts on the educational and vocational training centers established by the Chinese government for Xinjiang locals with "extremist tendencies." The centers were designed to educate trainees and provide them with necessary skills to make a living, as Beijing has re-emphasized for dozens of times throughout the year.

These centers were all closed after the trainees finished their courses.