Xinhua News Agency: A recent ASPI report says it "provides compelling evidence that Chinese government policies in Xinjiang may constitute an act of genocide". The report claims that "While the Chinese government argues it has adopted a uniform family-planning policy in Xinjiang, the county-level natality data suggests these policies are disproportionately affecting areas with a large indigenous population, meaning their application is discriminatory and applied with the intent of reducing the birth-rate of Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minorities". Do you have any comment?

Hua Chunying: Reuters also sent us a question on this ASPI report. I wonder how did the ASPI arrive at its conclusion that birthrate in Xinjiang fell 48.74% from 2017 to 2019?! What I know for certain is that during the past 60-plus years, Xinjiang's average life expectancy rose from 30 years to 72. Over the past 40-plus years, the Uyghur population in Xinjiang more than doubled from 5.55 million to over 12 million. Between 2010 and 2018, Uyghur population in Xinjiang increased by 25%, notably higher than the 2% for the ethnic Han group. The birthrate of the ethnic Uyghur group is above the regional average and much higher than that of the Han group. According to authoritative information released by the National Bureau of Statistics yesterday, compared to 2010, the population of ethnic minorities grew by 10.26% and the Han population was up by 4.93%.

China has been enacting a family planning policy since 1982. It was rolled out in an orderly fashion starting with inland regions, urban areas and the ethnic Han group, then moving to border regions, rural areas and ethnic minorities. This policy reached ethnic minorities in Xinjiang 17 years later than its implementation among the Han population, and it is not enforced as strictly as in inland regions. Xinjiang never formulated or implemented family planning policies targeting any single ethnic minority. The so-called "birth rate goals and quotas" are simply non-existent. CNN once sent us a question, which mentioned that a couple from Xinjiang left for Italy in 2016, bringing along three children and leaving behind four. This is a slap in the face for those who accuse China of imposing "forced sterilization" and "genocide" in Xinjiang.

An article in Chinese media with the title of "Things to Know about All the Lies on Xinjiang: How Have They Come About?" laid bare with penetrating details how anti-China forces like the ASPI and Adrian Zenz fabricated anti-China narratives by concocting data, distorting facts and deliberately blurring the line between subjective presumption and actual evidence and between propaganda and academic research. You can find more details online. I'll just cite one example here. Adrian Zenz used a chart in his "work" which shows that "new IUD placements per capita" in Xinjiang range from 800 to 1400, which means that every female in Xinjiang would need to receive 4 to 8 placement operations per day. How absurd! We hope people will have a discerning eye and see the truth behind all these rumor manufactures and spreaders.

SCMP: Japan, the United States and France are conducting a joint military exercise in Kyushu, Japan. Australia will also join the above-mentioned three countries for a joint drill in the East China Sea, in an attempt to impose pressure on China, as reports say. Do you have any comment?

Hua Chunying: Those four countries are conducting joint military exercises, and making it clear that the aim is to pressure China. Do they really think this could intimidate China?

But still, China opposes the practice of certain countries who always make an issue out of China. I'd like to cite the article that I referred to a few days ago, by Chas W Freeman Jr, former US assistant secretary of defense once again. He stated that "there are US aircraft and ships aggressively patrolling China's borders, but no Chinese aircraft and ships off America's coast. US bases ring China. There are no Chinese bases near America". Who exactly is taking increasingly aggressive actions in the region?

Among the four are countries that have a history of invasion. They, instead of showing remorse and contributing to the peace and development of the region and the world, point the finger at China and rack their brains to find excuses to enhance their military operations. What is their real intention?

Frankly speaking, be it a joint military exercise, or a drill, those countries will not exert any influence on China. What they do will only cost them more fuel. It is hoped that they will dedicate the time, energy and resources to ensuring the rights and interests of their people and to making greater contribution to the pandemic response efforts home and abroad.