中文
By Xu Bu
For quite some time, politicians and the media in the United States and other Western countries have concocted rumors about Xinjiang by various means to smear and attack China. They have fabricated lies to divert public attention, but the fact is that their anxiety about China's rise is evident. Their lies merely expose their hypocrisy and dirty nature. Seeking truth from facts should be essential for politicians; they should not distort facts because of political self-interest. Moreover, respecting the truth is the lifeline of media reporting; the professional ethics of the press should be observed. Regarding Xinjiang, some politicians from the U.S. and other Western countries have fabricated lies about "ethnic cleansing," manipulated public opinion, and weaponized the media. Their behavior is exceptionally dishonorable.
Let's be clear: there are no so-called "re-education camps" in Xinjiang. The vocational education and training centers set up in Xinjiang, in accordance with the law, are schools. The vocational education and training centers strictly follow China's Constitution and law, guarantee the fundamental rights of trainees, and forbid any abuse. They are no different from the Desistance and Disengagement Programme (DDP) of the U.K. or the de-radicalization centers in France. They are all active steps to realize preventive counter-terrorism and de-radicalization goals to cut off terrorism and religious extremism at the source. Moreover, they align with the principles and the spirit embodied in several international documents on counter-terrorism, such as the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism.
Installing surveillance facilities is a common practice in countries worldwide to safeguard security and stability. Surveillance cameras are installed everywhere, whether in London, Berlin, Paris, or New York. We cannot say that using surveillance devices in Britain, the U.S., and other countries is unbiased, justified, and necessary, while their use in China is biased, discriminatory, and unjustified. The surveillance devices themselves cannot discriminate and target specific ethnic groups. Instead, they are used to deter bad people and protect good people. Why do critics say China is violating human rights when it merely implements the same measures as Western countries? The only answer is double standards.
There are nearly 200 million religious believers in China, of whom more than 20 million are Muslim. China has over 380,000 clerical personnel, about 5,500 religious groups, and over 140,000 places of worship registered for religious activities. Moreover, there are more than 24,400 mosques in Xinjiang. In Xinjiang, people have the freedom to believe in or not in any religion, to believe in one faith in preference to another, to believe in any sect of the same religion, to abandon their past beliefs, and to become believers.
The Chinese government attaches great importance to protecting workers'
rights, manifested by the precise demands stipulated by laws such as the Labor Law and Employment Promotion Law for workers of all ethnic groups to facilitate equal employment and eliminate discrimination. The U.S. has fabricated the existence of "genocide" and "forced labor" in Xinjiang. However, American politicians should look in the mirror. As the world can see, the tragedy of American Indians is still prevailing; Black people are still protesting against police brutality; the social wounds caused by the "Muslim ban" are still being felt; forced labor in private prisons is still rampant.
The Uygur ethnic group is part of the big family of 56 ethnic groups in China. When the People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded, the Uygur population was only more than 3 million, increasing to 11.6 million in 2020. According to data from the national censuses, the Uygur population was only 3.6 million in 1953 and rose to 8.3 million in 2000, 10 million in 2010, and over 11.6 million in 2020. The Uygur population has increased by about 1 million every decade in the past 20 years and has maintained a high growth rate since the founding of the PRC. These figures tell us that lies about "ethnic cleansing" are entirely fabricated.
In 1949 when the PRC was founded, Xinjiang had only one college, and only 19.8 percent of school-age children were receiving education at school, with an illiteracy rate of over 90 percent. By 2020, Xinjiang had 56 higher education institutions and six adult colleges across the region. The net enrollment rate of primary schools was almost 100 percent. Before the founding of the PRC, Xinjiang was poorly provided with medical services. The average life expectancy in 1949 was less than 30, which has now risen to 75. The living standards of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have been continuously improved. The ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, like other ethnic groups, have significantly benefited from economic and social achievements.
Before the founding of the PRC, the economy of Xinjiang was an agricultural economy, with farming and livestock breeding as the mainstay. The industry was underdeveloped, and there were no railways, up-to-the-mark factories, or mines. Famines were frequent in some areas, and the people were impoverished. On Oct. 1, 1955, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was established, opening a new page for historical development in Xinjiang. Since then, Xinjiang's economy and social undertakings have advanced by leaps and bounds. The GDP of Xinjiang was 791 million yuan in 1952, exceeding 1.38 trillion yuan in 2020. The per capita GDP rose from 166 yuan in 1952 to 53,593 yuan in 2020. Moreover, the income of urban and rural residents continues to grow. The per capita disposable income of urban residents in Xinjiang increased from 319 yuan in 1978 to 34,838 yuan in 2020, maintaining an upward trend for years.
No matter how it is packaged, a lie is a lie. Slandering China's ethnic policy, inciting ethnic conflicts in China, and smearing the development achievements of China's ethnic minority areas cannot change the fact that the people in Xinjiang live and work in peace and contentment. Meanwhile, racial conflicts are becoming increasingly prominent in the U.S., the gap between the rich and the poor is widening, and systematic abuse is becoming more serious. Politicians in the U.S. are trying to divert attention and deceive people, but their lies are no more than self-delusion.
Xu Bu is the president of the China Institute of International Studies.
