China hosted a global media summit in Xinjiang this week, bringing together over 500 participants to discuss artificial intelligence, but also used the event to criticize Western reports about the forced labor of Uyghurs and an ongoing genocide were “fabricated lies.”
Representatives from over 200 media outlets — including executives from Reuters and The Associated Press — government agencies and international organizations attended the 6th World Media Summit, which opened Monday in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital, to discuss how artificial intelligence, or AI, is transforming the media industry.
The summit was organized by China’s official Xinhua News Agency and the Xinjiang regional government.
In addition to speeches about AI, Chinese officials blasted Western news reports that have shed light on the oppression of the 12 million Uyghurs who live in Xinjiang, or East Turkistan, as Uyghurs prefer to call it.
The United States and some Western parliaments have said there is credible evidence that China’s treatment of the Uyghurs is a “genocide” and “crimes against humanity.” The U.S. Congress has also passed a law banning the import of goods and materials suspected of being made by Uyghur forced labor.
But Ma Xingrui, Communist Party secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, rejected the accusations, saying all ethnic groups in the region live peacefully.
“Some anti-China forces in the world have disregarded the facts, wantonly fabricated lies such as ‘genocide’ and ‘forced labor’ in Xinjiang, China, and maliciously imposed unilateral sanctions,” he said in a speech, according to a post on the Xinjiang government website.
“At present, Xinjiang has a stable society, a prosperous economy, and people of all ethnic groups live and work in peace and contentment, and the development situation continues to improve,” he continued.
Amplifying a narrative
Ma’s comments are an example of how China is amplifying its own narrative about the Uyghurs living happily and enjoying prosperity despite evidence to the contrary, including many stories by Radio Free Asia.
China does not permit journalists to travel freely in Xinjiang and convincing Uyghurs contacted by phone to talk to reporters outside the country puts them at considerable risk of punishment.
Representatives from Al Jazeera, Russian news agency TASS, the Malaysian National News Agency, the Kyrgyz State News Agency, South Africa’s Independent Media, Hungary’s ATV and media organizations from China-friendly countries also attended the event.
