China rejects report Uighur children being separated from parents

China on Friday dismissed as a “farce” a news report saying it is separating ethnic Uighur children from their parents as part of social engineering policies in the western region of Xinjiang. At a news briefing, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian also rejected the Economist magazine’s characterisation of China’s policies in Xinjiang, where most of China’s Muslim Uighur population lives, as a crime against humanity. Activists say about one million Uighurs and other Turkic people have been imprisoned in “brainwashing” camps, mass detention that has been decried by rights groups and foreign government officials alike. In September, nearly two dozen activist groups wrote a letter to the United Nations claiming a genocide was taking place against the Uighurs and should be investigated. An investigation by The Associated Press news agency in June said China is imposing draconian measures to slash birth rates among ethnic Uighurs as part of a sweeping campaign to curb its Muslim population. Under international law, crimes against humanity are defined as widespread and systematic, whereas the burden of proof of genocide – the intent to destroy part of a population – is more difficult to prove. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">