Back in June, reports emerged of the Chinese government forcibly sterilizing ethnic minority women in Xinjiang. The story, based on a paper by the researcher Adrien Zenz, was picked up by leading international news organizations. But local authorities in Xinjiang are now pushing back against the allegations. CGTN's Liu Jiaxin has more.

Two months ago, a report by German scholar Adrien Zenz claimed Chinese authorities are coercing Uygur women and other ethnic minorities to limit their populations.

In the paper, Zenz accuses China of "demographic genocide", prompting a cross-national group of western lawmakers to call for a United Nations investigation into the claims. But local authorities in Xinjiang describe the research as "nonsense" and question what they view as "biased data."

TURSUNAY ABUDUREYIM Grade One Inspector, Statistic Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region "As a matter of fact, Xinjiang's Uyghur population has been increasing. The Uygur population is not only growing at a faster rate than the average for Xinjiang, but also higher than that of ethnic minorities and even higher than the Han."

Official government statistics show there was a decline in the birth and natural growth rates for Uyghurs in Xinjiang in 2018, compared to the year before. But, for 2018, the figures show the Uygur population growing by more than 6-percent — nearly double the national average.

Local officials in Xinjiang say Zenz's research ignores this data, describing the forced sterilization claims as "scandalous" and "malicious."

MUTALIP ROZI Director, Health Commission of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region "Illegal activities such as forced birth control and forced pregnancy tests are banned in Xinjiang. Whether or not people of all ethnic groups take contraceptives and how they choose to do so are voluntary, and no organization or individual is allowed to interfere."

Officials say the overall decline in Xinjiang's population growth rate reflects global trends, as higher socioeconomic development tends to result in women having fewer children.