Observer: US bill on Xinjiang has no basis in international law 美國涉疆法案沒有國際法依據

Observer: US bill on Xinjiang has no basis in international law 美國涉疆法案沒有國際法依據 By Professor Kenneth Hammond | People’s Daily Dec 26, 2021

The new legislation about Xinjiang passed by the US Congress and signed by US President Joe Biden represents the ongoing efforts of American political elites to attack China and create a climate of fear and antagonism toward China among the American people.

China’s re-emergence as a significant participant in global affairs, and the success of its program of economic development for the improvement of the lives of its people are seen by US politicians not as great events to be welcomed and as an opportunity to seek a better future for all the world’s people, but rather as a threat to the power and privileges which they have enjoyed for many decades.

They rely upon the general ignorance of life in China on the part of most people in the West to promote a mythology of oppression which goes against the actual state of affairs in that country.

This kind of legislation has no basis in international law, and is in fact a contravention of the principles of respect for sovereignty and national integrity, and for non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, which are the fundamental basis of a true international order.

The US government has thought of itself as the world’s police force at least since the end of World War II, and this is yet another example of meddling in the lives of Chinese people not to benefit them, but to try to slow down China’s progress and portray China in a negative light.

I have travelled in Xinjiang, to Urumqi, Kashgar, Turpan, Kucha, and Hotian, though of course not in the last few years. My own observations were that the vast majority of local people there, especially younger people, are pleased with the opportunities they have for education and for participation in the development of the modern economy.

I certainly did not see evidence of any kind of repression or anti-Muslim activities. If there has been a decline in the place of Islam in the daily lives of people, again especially younger people, I think that is largely a common feature of modernizing societies, where the attractions of contemporary culture are often seen as preferable to more traditional ways, which are felt to be out-of-date and uninteresting.

I know that there are separatist elements in Xinjiang and in the Islamic fundamentalist movements outside of China with links to the region. There have been serious acts of terror not only in Xinjiang but in other parts of China. Any reasonable government would take steps to address this threat, and China has certainly been doing so. The number of people involved in these activities is small, and the overall approach has been to establish vocational education and training centers to eradicate the breeding ground for terrorism and extremism from the source and try to address some of the economic or social issues which some people may feel give rise to separatist sentiments.

Development is never a totally smooth, frictionless process, but China is making great efforts to protect the safety and well-being of its people, including the people of Xinjiang, in responding to the violence of these divisive sects.

(The author is historian professor of New Mexico State University)