The claim was made by the Chinese Mission to the United Nations.

It tweeted: "Ethnic minority cultures are an integral part of Chinese culture. Cultural customs and relics of ethnic minorities are protected as Chinese cultural heritages. We have saved 1 million ancient classics from distinction. We will continue to protect our common cultural wealth."

In reply, the Congress Uyghur rights body said: "China claims that it 'protects the cultural heritage of ethnic minority groups' while engaging in a systematic campaign to destroy the cultural heritage of #Uyghurs. Since 2017, for example, China has demolished: 65% of mosques 30% of important Islamic sacred sites."

Who are Uyghur Muslims?

Uyghur Muslims are a Turkic minority ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. It is now widely publicized that their human rights are crushed by China and they were sent to "re-education camps" by the communist regime in Beijing.

The Uyghurs are recognized as native to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.

An American representative at the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said in 2018 that the committee had received many credible reports that 1 million ethnic Uyghurs in China have been held in "re-education camps" by the Chinese authorities.