China refutes so-called Xinjiang chili pepper report

BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday that a handful of Western media and long-time disinformation manufacturers have concocted one lie after another about Xinjiang, but what is made up will not hide the truth and a lie is still a lie even if it is told a thousand times.

Spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks when asked to comment on a related query at a daily press briefing.

Certain Western media's articles cited a report by Adrian Zenz, who is an anti-China academic, saying that chili pepper products sold in UK and U.S. supermarkets contain ingredients from Xinjiang, which are probably produced using "forced labor."

Noting this so-called report mentioned by certain media outlets is deeply flawed, Lin said it pretentiously quotes some vague accounts by so-called anonymous witnesses, but does not provide any factual basis, and even lacks the most basic field investigation.

"The fact is, the farming process of chili peppers in Xinjiang has largely been mechanized already. In some major production areas, 100 percent of the chili peppers are now harvested by machines. Is the report suggesting that there is forced machine labor?" Lin asked.

The spokesperson noted that earlier this week, an international symposium on employment and social security was held in Urumqi. More than 200 participants from over 40 countries, regions and international organizations attended the event, and many said the Xinjiang they saw is very much different from the false propaganda they had seen from sources outside China. "They condemned the 'forced labor' narrative, calling it a lie that deprives people in Xinjiang of their right to work, subsistence and development," Lin said.

From cotton to tomato and now to chili pepper, a handful of Western media and long-time disinformation manufacturers have concocted one lie after another about Xinjiang, Lin said, adding what is made up will not hide the truth and a lie is still a lie even if it is told a thousand times.

"For those behind these same old clumsy theatrics, it is high time they quit this 'creative' business for good," Lin said.