Chinese state media denies BBC reports of forced labour in Xinjiang cotton fields
- The British broadcaster said recently it had found evidence that hundreds of thousands of Uygurs were being forced to pick cotton
- China Daily and Global Times both carry articles saying the claims were untrue and ‘fictionalised’
Chinese state media outlets have hit out at a BBC report on forced labour in Xinijang, saying it was inaccurate and more like a scripted drama.
The report headlined “China’s ‘tainted’ cotton” released earlier this month that said it had seen evidence that hundreds of thousands of Uygurs were being forced to pick cotton. The BBC also said its reporters had been consistently followed and obstructed throughout their visit to the region.
China’s state media, including China Daily and Global Times, a tabloid affiliated with People’s Daily, have both issued detailed rebuttals of what they said was inaccurate reporting from the BBC.
“The BBC’s so-called investigative journalism is more like an ‘Oscar’ drama written and performed according to a script,” the former said. In an article published in both English and Chinese, Global Times dismissed the BBC report as “severely inconsistent with reality”.
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