Datelined September 15 and under the headline, “What China does not tolerate,” the Chinese Embassy in Berlin sent a letter to the editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, reproduced below, lambasting the startlingly ignorant propaganda of a Bundestag member of the Free Democrats, which he made in remarks to the FAZ:
Regarding the interview with Peter Heidt, member of the German Bundestag ("China must close the camps,” F.A.Z., September 6), which is teeming with ignorance and untruths, the Chinese Embassy comments as follows: First, Peter Heidt slanders China by claiming that an “assimilation” of national minorities is being carried out and that the German Bundestag should declare a “genocide” in Xinjiang. But the fact is that there are 56 nationalities in China whose customs, traditions and languages are respected and protected by law as an important part of Chinese culture.
In order to promote the development of regions where national minorities predominate, China has introduced various support programs. In the Chinese region of Xinjiang, the total population has quadrupled over the last 60 years — and the number of Uyghurs alone has more than quintupled, growing from 2.2 million to about 12 million. The Chinese side urges Peter Heidt not to close his eyes to this fact.
Second, Peter Heidt ignores the actual purpose of the vocational training centers in Xinjiang and idiosyncratically refers to them as “concentration camps.” These centers have helped people who have been influenced by extremist ideas to break away from radical ideology and to reintegrate them into the labor market and society through qualification measures. The said facilities have already been closed again after achieving positive results in de-radicalization.
