A video of Daniel Dumbrill delivering remarks at the event "Genocide in Xinjiang?"-A Discovery Zoom Panel was screened before the regular press began.

Hua Chunying: Good afternoon, friends from the press. Welcome to our daily press conference. As you can see, we have put up a projector here. Before the press conference started, you watched the video featuring Daniel Dumbrill, a Canadian, delivering remarks at the event "Genocide in Xinjiang?"-A Discovery Zoom Panel. I'd like to show you one more short video.

(Playing the video clip of remarks by Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell and retired US Army Colonel at the Ron Paul Institute in August 2018)

We've just watched this video clip together. I wonder what you think of it. The speaker is Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell and retired US Army Colonel. He was speaking at the Ron Paul Institute in August 2018 on the threefold purposes of the US presence in Afghanistan, one of which is to contain China. He said undisguisedly that "the third reason we were there [in Afghanistan] is because there are 20 million Uyghurs [in Xinjiang]. The CIA would want to destabilize China and that would be the best way to do it to foment unrest and to join with those Uyghurs in pushing the Han Chinese in Beijing from internal places rather than external".

Doesn't it feel like a déjà vu? In an April 2019 speech at Texas A&M University, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo boasted, "we lied, we cheated, we stole. [...] We had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment." This is what the US has said and done.

In 2003, the US launched military strikes against Iraq on the grounds that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties and making more than one million homeless. Years later, the US admitted that the evidence of Iraq's holding weapons of mass destruction was nothing more than a small tube of white washing powder.

In 2018, the US, the UK, France and some other countries launched air strikes on Syria, claiming that the Syrian government forces used chemical weapons against the Syrian people. The air strikes led to hundreds of thousands of casualties and displacement of innocent civilians. But the evidence of the so-called use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government turned out to be nothing more than a staged video directed by the White Helmets, a group funded by US and UK intelligence agencies.

In 2019, during the disturbance over proposed legislative amendments in Hong Kong, the CIA worked hand in glove with National Endowment for Democracy to sponsor, instigate and even command anti-China, destabilizing forces in Hong Kong to launch vandalizing, looting and arson attacks, and storm the Legislative Council building in the name of fighting for democracy and freedom in an attempt to spark a "color revolution" in Hong Kong .

Now, the US and its several Western allies are targeting the pure and white Xinjiang cotton. They imposed sanctions on relevant Chinese individuals and entity over the false accusation of the sensational "crimes" of "forced labor", "forced sterilization" and even "genocide" in Xinjiang.

However, as admitted by the former US official in the video clip you watched, the so-called Uyghur issue in Xinjiang is just a strategic conspiracy with an attempt to disrupt China from within and contain China. In this "play" staged by the US, some politicians and media outlets in the US and its ally countries played a very disgraceful role. Some of they colluded with anti-China forces to unscrupulously pursue rumor-mongering and smearing campaign against China with unfounded pretexts. And some, out of ideological prejudice, would rather believe in lies concocted by a handful of anti-China elements than listen to the voice of the 25 million people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang and face squarely the basic facts of development and progress in Xinjiang. They are full of righteous indignation in "defending" human rights in Xinjiang by citing some so-called "credible" witnesses or information. Now, after watching this video of Lawrence Wilkerson, will they believe in the words of their government official or continue to trust those clumsy actors of the play?

Facts have proved time and again that the Xinjiang issue is by no means about ethnicity, religion or human rights, but an issue of fighting separatism, terrorism and interference. The US has crafted the so-called Xinjiang issue, not because it cares for the Uighur people. Otherwise, why did it attack Muslim countries under the pretext of counter-terrorism following the September 11 attack, leading to deaths and family separations of tens of millions of Muslims? And why did they put in place the one and only "Muslim ban" in the world and discriminate against and persecute Muslims and other ethnic minorities in the US? Their true intention is to undermine China's security and stability and stop China from growing stronger.

We solemnly inform the US side that today's China is neither Iraq nor Syria, still less the late Qing Dynasty downtrodden by the Eight-Power Allied Forces. China is open and aboveboard. All malicious lies and rumors against China will fall apart before facts and truths. We have full resolution, determination and capability to firmly defend national sovereignty, security, dignity and honor.

My friends, I believe you will make a clean cut with all the lies and disinformation about Xinjiang after watching this video clip. Let the curtain fall on this US-staged play.

Bloomberg: So is it your contention that the CIA has convinced the world that there's genocide occurring in Xinjiang. And given all your efforts to change the narrative about Xinjiang, are you saying that the CIA did a better job than China?

Hua Chunying: As you can see from the video, a former senior American official, who helped instigate the Iraq war, confessed that an important reason for the U.S. presence in Afghanistan is that there are 20 million Uyghurs in Xinjiang. "The CIA would want to destabilize China, that would be the best way to do it to foment unrest, and join those Uyghurs in pushing the Han Chinese in Beijing from internal places rather than external." As you can see, that's his words. Some western media always talk about citing reliable sources. Would you regard this video a reliable source?

You all know what the CIA has done since then. A few years ago, BBC's Newsnight program revealed the relation between of the CIA and National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in the Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong. This is not a secret, but a well-known fact.

In the earlier video, you saw Daniel Dumbrill speaking at the "American/Canadian Propaganda - a Xinjiang 'Genocide' Panel". To go over a few points he made, "why the Xinjiang narrative matters so much to western governments right now, particularly the US, it's not because they really care about the Muslims". "One of the things I really wanted to figure out was if there was any concern that the US government is putting so much money behind this narrative, funding overseas Uyghur groups millions of dollars, and dedicating a lot of airtime towards it, and what this kind of effort usually means. We have a precedent for fake propaganda created to serve America's geopolitical interests". He also mentioned why the Canadian Parliament passed a resolution accusing China over Xinjiang-related issues. He said, "one of the main contributors was from the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, a Canadian NGO set up with funds from the NED, an organization that had its president say that what the CIA used to do covertly, they now do through the NED. This is basically a front to overthrow and destabilize governments and it has nothing to do with democracy." Over the years, there were only a few countries that the US has not interfered or instigated "color revolutions" directly or caused political turmoil and regime subversion behind the scenes.

Now the same thing is happening in Xinjiang. The CIA, ASPI and some western academics and media all have a role to play in this show plotted and directed by the US. It's high time that this show was wrapped up.

AFP: Just to follow up on the videos that you screened earlier and the statement that you made afterwards regarding the Xinjiang issue. Would it be right to say that this is the ministry or China's stance that all the media outlets who have on separate occasions independently reported on the situation in Xinjiang over the past years, were acting in coordination and under the instructions of the US operations? You showed us the two clips earlier. I believe one involves the Canadian blogger who lives in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, China. So have Chinese official agencies themselves also embarked on study on the US influence that you alluded to earlier?

Hua Chunying: The question you raised is actually about the relationship between the media and some anti-China forces in the US and the West that spread rumors and disinformation to discredit Xinjiang. And I need to clarify to you that I was referring to some of the Western media.

As for foreign journalists in China, we made a special video and sent it to hundreds of foreign correspondents in China before the Spring Festival this year. Because last year was not easy and we wanted to extend our care to the foreign correspondents, who have worked very hard. Many of you have been in China for more than a decade or even decades. It is through your reports, and with your pen and lens, that the world has come to know China better. Especially last year during the outbreak, many foreign journalists stood by their posts and told the world about the Chinese people's fight against the epidemic. We have noticed that there are more and more objective reports on China, richer in content and with more diverse perspectives. We appreciate that. You can also feel that the Information Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and my colleagues have always been sincere, open and friendly in providing convenience and assistance to foreign journalists in their work and life in China. For example, during the outbreak last year, we helped you with interviews, which I believe you know very well.

But I must also stress that a few Western media have made very unfair reports on China, which are not only one-sided, but even fake news sometimes. What is the relationship between them and the US as well as its several allies? I have no idea. But there is no doubt that certain western media have played a disgraceful role in the US-led disinformation campaign against China.

In the video clip you just watched, Daniel Dumbrill named two media outlets, one from the US and the other from the UK. To save their face, I'm not going to specify them here. A so-called "concentration camp survivor" was propped up in a major way by these two media outlets recently, and the third version of her story widely deviated from the first. Curiously, the passport renewal date of this "survivor" was oddly the only thing blurred out in the report. It turns out it's a huge loophole in her story that nobody's talking about. It would be odd enough if China would grant a passport to someone they were trying to "genocide". It would be even more odd that her passport was renewed during the time she said she was under arrest. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence knows there's a problem here. So why such reports were made? Are such media outlets objective, fair and honest? Are they worthy of their readers?

That is why we are grateful to the vast majority of our friends from the media, who continue to report on China to the world and are willing to have a sincere and objective understanding of China. However, it is true that some Western media have spread a lot of disinformation about China. I think you all know who these media are. Journalists with these media outlets also know that very well. They should ask themselves, do they deserve the good working environment that the Chinese side provides them? Can they look the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang in the eye? As they unconscionably fabricate fake news to smear China, can their conscience really be at ease? Won't their conscience smite them? I don't want to mention their names. What is done by night appears by day. I think the relevant media and journalists know what they've done better than anyone else. We will, as always, continue to facilitate the reporting of foreign correspondents in China and will do our best to provide more interview opportunities for you. Please feel free to come to me and my colleagues if you have any problem.