In response to the report, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called it “nothing but slanderous rumors” during a press conference on Friday, and said the ASPI had received foreign funds to “support its concoction of lies against China.”
“It we look at the numbers, there are more than 24,000 mosques in Xinjiang, which is over ten times more than in the U.S.,” said Wang. “It means there is a mosque for every 530 Muslims in Xinjiang, which is more mosques per capita than many Muslim countries.”