BEIJING, Dec 20 (Alliance News): The Chinese Foreign Ministry has refuted recent claims by Western media suggesting that pepper farming in Xinjiang’s Uyghur Autonomous Region is tied to “forced labor.”
During a daily press briefing on December 20, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian emphasized that the region’s pepper farming process has now been fully mechanized, questioning whether the allegations of “forced labor” now referred to “machine forced labor.”
Lin further dismissed the accusations as part of a wider campaign, likening it to earlier fabrications surrounding Xinjiang’s cotton and tomato production.
He stated that such claims are based on misleading narratives propagated by “counterfeit professionals” who create a “ridiculous drama,” asserting that repeating a falsehood doesn’t make it true.
Lin urged Western media to move past these outdated allegations and focus on telling a more accurate and positive story about Xinjiang.
