The editor of Chinese state media, Global Times, Hu Xijin on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack predicted that there will be another "deadly attack" in the US. Taking to Twitter, Hu said, "The September 11 attack was suicide attacks by 19 terrorists, but it was not the "suicide attack" of the terrorism. Terrorism will accumulate power to launch the next deadly attack. Time will prove that it is a mistake for the US to regard China as its biggest adversary."
It is pertinent to note that relations between China and the United States have deteriorated to the extent that the allies of US have also imposed sanctions on Beijing for the repression of Muslim Uyghurs in the north-western region of Xinjiang.
Nineteen Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes on September 11, 2001.
Two of the planes were flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York. Another plane struck the west side of the Pentagon, and yet another one crashed in Pennsylvania before reaching its presumed target. The attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
On September 10, US President Joe Biden designated September 11 as Patriot and National Day of Service and Remembrance and noted that on this day, all government entities should display the US flag at half-staff.
Meanwhile, China used the anniversary to negate the narrative surrounding Beijing's repression of Muslim Uyghurs in the north-western region of Xinjiang.
Zhao Lijian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, on Friday urged the US to stop defining terrorists based on their ideologies and "political self-interest."
"Terrorists are terrorists. Defining terrorists based on political self-interest is essentially condoning terrorist activities, which seriously undermines the international counter-terrorism cooperation," said Zhao.
Amid the mounting accusation of large-scale human rights violations and persecution of Uyghurs by China, fresh reports have emerged where the Chinese authorities are said to be racially profiling minority groups to build a large DNA database.
China has been rebuked for cracking down on Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Multiple reports suggest that Beijing sends the ethnic minorities to mass detention camps and interferes in their religious activities. Moreover, it subjects them to abuse including forced labour.
Despite mounting evidence, Beijing has vehemently denied that it is engaging in human rights abuses against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
(With inputs from ANI)
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