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Article

29 Mar 2021

Author:
Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland

Chinese Mission in Geneva rejects UN experts' comments on alleged forced labour

"Chinese Mission Spokesperson Liu Yuyin's Remarks on the Erroneous Remarks against China by the Working Group on Business and Human Rights and other Special Procedures", 29 March 2021

On March 29, the Working Group on Business and Human Rights, together with a few other special procedures of the Human Rights Council, maliciously distorted facts and spread lies of “forced labor” against China out of bias and political purposes. China firmly opposes and categorically rejects the accusations.

[...] People of all ethnic groups, including the Uygurs, fully enjoy the rights and freedoms of choosing their jobs freely and working on an equal footing. They are now creating a better life with their own hands. China is absolutely a “Straight-A Student” in the world in protecting the rights of ethnic minorities and ensuring people’s rights to labor and employment. The working group chose a wrong target when it tried to stigmatize China.

[...] We cannot help but wonder, how can “forced labor” exist in such an era of digital economy and smart development? By naming themselves “experts”, members of the Working Group are actually looking at the sky from the bottom of a well, spreading completely illogical lies with little if any knowledge about China’s technological progress and industrial development. This will only make them laughing stocks of the world. [...]

We welcome fair and objective people from various countries to visit China including Xinjiang, but those biased with the attempt to conduct the so-called investigation in China under the presumption of guilt are not welcomed. We hope that the Working Group could seriously reflect on its mistakes, cast away its bias against China, get its homework done in performing its duties, improve professionalism, and stop making erroneous remarks publicly out of political purposes while ignoring basic facts and authoritative information of member states.

Part of the following timelines

China: 83 major brands implicated in report on forced labour of ethnic minorities from Xinjiang assigned to factories across provinces; Includes company responses

China: Mounting concerns over forced labour in Xinjiang

Brands face boycott in China over decision not to source Xinjiang cotton due to allegations of forced labour