ALI ÜNAL
DAILY SABAH - JUNE 22, 2016
The charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Ankara, Zhang Tao, said that Turkish-Chinese relations are multidimensional and very important from China's perspective and stressed that downgrading bilateral relations between the two countries only to discussion about Xinjiang would undermine bilateral relations. Speaking to journalists at an iftar (fast-breaking dinner) hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Ankara on Wednesday evening, Zhang said that China conducts a peaceful development and improvement policy, but it does not mean that China will diverge from its national interests. Zhang said the three fundamental policies in China are reform, progress and stability. Giving detailed information about China's policy on Xinjiang's Uighur population, Zhang claimed that the central government in Beijing is not implementing oppressive policies against Uighurs. "During years of 1982 to 2000, the Uighur population has shown a 40.8 percent increase. While the Uighur population in Xinjiang in 1949 was 3 million, this number increased to 10 million in 2013. … Even during the one-child policy era, Uighurs in Xinjiang were allowed to have more than one child.
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