CNN published an op-ed Wednesday comparing Chinese oppression of the Uyghur people to the “brutal policies” of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, but added an “editor’s note” giving the Chinese government’s side of the story, according to a report by Taylor Giles at The Daily Caller.
The op-ed was written by Nury Turkel, a Uyghur-American and Vice Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), who was “born in a Chinese reeducation camp, where my mother was detained in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, which many Uyghurs call East Turkistan.”
“For most of my life,” Turkel wrote, “I tried to forget the horrific experiences my mother and I had during my early childhood. But it seems the past is repeating itself — and with a vengeance.”
Turkel said that “China is targeting the Uyghur population with a new fervor . . . has detained possibly as many as 3 million Uyghurs in detention camps [and] has been destroying traditional Uyghur cemeteries.” He recommended that Western countries implement “import bans” and “strategic investment” to hit “China where it hurts.”
And the end of the article, CNN took the unusual step of appending the following note, which appears to defend China:
Editor’s Note: The Chinese government has repeatedly denied any allegations of crimes — including forced labor and forced sterilization — against the Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples. It claims it is providing the Uyghurs with education at “vocational training centers” while assisting in deradicalization efforts to combat alleged terrorism.
According to Fox News, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, has accused CNN of “pushing CCP propaganda.”
Cruz posted an image of the editor’s note to Twitter and commented:
“CNN editors, who have 0 hesitation about publishing trash allegations against anyone they perceive as not leftwing enough, took an article by a Uyghur-American advocate exposing China’s ongoing genocide & added an ‘Editor’s Note’ pushing CCP propaganda.”
CNN editors, who have 0 hesitation about publishing trash allegations against anyone they perceive as not leftwing enough, took an article by a Uyghur-American advocate exposing China’s ongoing genocide & added an “Editor’s Note” pushing CCP propaganda. https://t.co/6LyByQRmeX pic.twitter.com/7RWXoFJ7vA
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 10, 2021
Surely, CNN’s soft-balling criticism of China couldn’t have anything to do with Warner Media, CNN’s parent company, substantially increasing its footprint in the Asian media market.
That’s probably pure coincidence.
