U.S. Xinjiang-related act has no factual or legal basis: legal practitioners

A cotton picker works in one of farmer Erkin Rehim's fields in Yuli County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Oct. 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge)

URUMQI, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- The United States' signature into law of the so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act has no factual or legal basis, according to jurists and legal practitioners at a symposium in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The symposium was held on Friday in the regional capital of Urumqi, with eight jurists and legal practitioners in the region participating in the meeting. The attendees said the so-called act is based on disinformation and certain political purposes, and that it maliciously slanders the human rights situation in Xinjiang, seriously violates international law and the basic norms governing international relations, and brutally intervenes in China's internal affairs.

Xinjiang has always upheld the principle of enabling its people to live better lives, and has earnestly respected and protected the labor rights and interests of peoples of all ethnic groups in the region. It has also introduced a series of employment policies, established platforms and provided many job opportunities, enabling peoples of all ethnic groups to make better livings through their own hard work, according to Alimjan Amat, vice president of the regional bar association.

"Workers of all ethnic groups living in Xinjiang work, choose jobs and start businesses of their own accord, and make their livings through their own efforts. They are not only the subjects of labor, but also the owners of the fruits of their labor," said Arkin Samsaq, an associate professor at the law school of Xinjiang University.

"The so-called forced labor is a thoroughly false proposition," Arkin Samsaq said.