Foreign diplomats who visited Xinjiang on a four day trip have denied the lies spread by the Western media and organisations regarding Xinjiang. It was a delegation of over 30 diplomats from 21 different countries who made the four day trip to the north western region of China.
The delegation spoke with local people about culture, local life and various other sectors of society in Xinjiang, an area that often has its image hugely warped by the Western media.
Mohammad Keshavarz-Zadeh, the Iranian ambassador to China noted that religious activities were taking place in mosques without any issues and also he was amazed by the condition of the local mosques there.
He said “As a Muslim, I prayed in the mosque. I saw people are free to practice their religious activities,” he said, adding the “mosques are spacious and bright, the carpets are soft and clean, and there are tables and chairs for the convenience of the elderly and the disabled. There are also facilities like flush toilets, ablution rooms, canteens and cultural centers”
“There have been no terrorist incidents across the region over the past more than four years,” Shohrat Zakir, chairman of the regional government of Xinjiang, told the delegation at a briefing held on Friday in Urumqi, a city in Xinjiang region.
The delegates have noticed that China’s efforts to fight terrorism is proving to be successful, very much unlike what’s being said in the Western media outlets who only make baseless negative claims.
Nepalese ambassador to China, Mahendra Bahadur Pandey backed the Iranian ambassador’s view when they visited an exhibition on China’s hard fight against terrorism and extremism by saying “I appreciate that the Chinese government and people not only substantially control terrorism but they have given new ways of life, including vocational training and education. It means people in Xinjiang are not suppressed, and they have been given opportunities to move forward toward peace and development,”.
Charge d’Affaires ad Interim of the Russian Embassy in China Ivan Zhelokhovtsev showed his support and appreciation for Xinjiang. He said he didn’t find any of the problems spoken of in Western media during his trip to Xinjiang and also added that the reports will not influence his views on the area.
The delegation also visited a textile workshop to see what progress has been made in efforts to improve lives of the locals in the Xinjiang region.
“Human beings are facing many challenges and what we need is cooperation, not defamation, unilateralism or hegemonism,” said the Pakistani ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque who was left very impressed by the religious freedom he saw while on the trip.
Shohrat Zakir, chairman of the Xinjiang regional government, said he would welcome the arrival of more people visiting the region in order to see the real Xinjiang, not the horrible, cruel place as depicted in the Western news outlets.
The overall situation in Xinjiang is stable and it continues to improve steadily, he told the diplomats, adding that “residents in the region are enjoying stable and better lives in recent years, with an increasingly strong sense of fulfillment, security and happiness”.
Thanks to the joint efforts of the central and regional authorities and the effective measures taken.
Xinjiang, in northwestern China, is the largest province-level administrative region in China, with over 25 million people from ethnic groups such as Han, Uygur and Hui.
“Xinjiang is enjoying the best time for development in its history,” he said.
He told the envoys of the advances in the local economy as well as in poverty alleviation and religious policies. From 2010 to 2018, the Uygur population in Xinjiang rose from 10.17 million to 12.72 million, an increase of 25.04 percent, the regional chief said.
Hua Chunying, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said that Xinjiang is open and is welcoming for foreigners to visit.
Bakri Sopur, a Uygur farmer who grows cotton on 13.3 hectares in Xinjiang’s Aksu prefecture, makes around 200,000 yuan (£22,019.51) per annum.
“When I heard the rumours (by the Western media) about the forced Labour, I was shocked. It is total nonsense,” he told the delegation.
Jenny Smith, is a member of the YCL’s Birmingham branch
