Interview: U.S. bill on Xinjiang interferes in China's internal affairs -- Afghan expert

A farmer picks marigold flowers in a field in Shache County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Zhihao)

"If America supports the rights of minorities in China, first she (America) should ensure the rights of minorities within its territory," said the expert.

by Abdul Haleem

KABUL, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The signing of a bill by the United States on China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has interfered in China's internal affairs, said an Afghan expert in an interview with Xinhua on Friday.

No country has the right to interfere in other's internal affairs, said Shamsul Haq Arianfar, the author of multiple books.

"If America supports the rights of minorities in China, first she (America) should ensure the rights of minorities within its territory," said Arianfar, who is also a former Afghan government official.

The killing of a black man by a white police officer in the United States recently, which has sparked massive demonstrations in the country and many other cities across the world, could be a proof of the existence of racial discrimination in the United States, he said.

Demonstrators march through Brooklyn Bridge in New York, the United States, June 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

"It is a breach of international law to interfere in other country's internal affairs and the United States can't be exempted," Arianfar said.

Any country, big or small, has the right to introduce reforms within its territory to safeguard its sovereignty, to choose the path for its development and to make decisions for ensuring its national interests, the expert said.

Xinjiang, like other parts of China, has seen development and has not reported terrorist incidents in recent years due to the essential steps taken by China's central government, said Arianfar, who visited China in the past years and toured some Chinese cities.

Children have fun in "Dove Lane" in the old town Tuancheng of Hotan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 27, 2020.  (Xinhua/Sadat)

Arianfar said that people in China enjoy a peaceful and prosperous life.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday said the so-called "Uygur Human Rights Act of 2020" deliberately denigrates the human rights conditions in China's Xinjiang, viciously attacks the Chinese government's Xinjiang policy, blatantly violates international law and basic norms in international relations, and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs.  ■