Cheng Jingye claimed the mass detention in Xinjiang province had “nothing to do with human rights..."

12-18-19  At a rare press conference at the Chinese embassy in Canberra,

Cheng Jingye claimed the mass detention in  Xinjiang province had “nothing to do with human rights, nothing to do with religion” and was “no different” from other countries’ counter-terrorism measures.  Cheng also defended China’s detention of Australian writer Yang Hengjun, claiming that his health is good and his rights are being protected, despite the fact he has not had access to his lawyers.

Asked about Australia foreign minister Marise Payne’s criticism of the mass detention of Muslim Uighurs – a fact established by leaked Communist party documents – Cheng responded that “Xinjiang-related matters are internal affairs of China”.

  He claimed that reports that 1m Uighurs are in detention are “utterly fake news” and then played a propaganda video to argue the measure was a response to 20 years of violence in Xinjiang province.  “Those attacks and violence … [claimed] a large number of innocent people and also … brought huge damage to property,” he said.  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/19/chinas-ambassador-to-australia-says-reports-of-detention-of-1m-uighurs-fake-news
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12-18-19  “The German player

Ozil posted an extreme statement about China on social media,” NetEase said in a statement on Weibo on Wednesday.  “The speech hurt the feelings of Chinese fans and violated the sports spirit of love and peace.  We do not understand, accept or forgive this.” 
  Ozil, a German Muslim of Turkish origin, posted messages of social media last week calling minority Uighurs “warriors who resist persecution” and criticized both China’s crackdown and the silence of Muslims in response. 
  China’s foreign ministry said Ozil was “deceived by fake news” as social media platforms in the country such as Weibo were flooded with angry messages.  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-arsenal-china/ozil-removed-from-computer-game-in-china-over-uighur-comments-idUSKBN1YM23B