Q: The Board of Deputies of British Jews has written to Ambassador Liu Xiaoming following his interview over the weekend on BBC. The letter recognizes the achievements China has made in recent years but makes a comparison between the treatment of Muslims, especially Uyghurs in Xinjiang with the treatment of Jews in WWII. Do you have any response to that letter?

A: I'm not aware of the letter thing you mentioned. I would like to reiterate that the issue concerning Xinjiang is never about human rights, religion or ethnicity, but about fighting terrorism and separatism. Comparing the situation in Xinjiang to the past sufferings of the Jewish people is just ludicrous.

Xinjiang affairs are purely China's domestic affairs where no country has any right or is in any position to interfere. The Chinese government is firmly determined to defend national sovereignty, security and development interests, to fight terrorist, separatist and religious extremist forces, and to oppose foreign interference in China's Xinjiang affairs.