Putting the record straight on Xinjiang

For one reason or the other, the name “Xinjiang” has become an international phenomenon in recent months. Not that Xinjiang, a vast autonomous region of deserts and mountains in northwest China does not deserve some kind of noble recognition.

Unfortunately, some Western powers have decided to tarnish the name of the highly productive region known for producing the best cotton in the world for quite some ignoble reasons. The latest attempt was a recent documentary by America’s CNN that showed alleged human rights abuses in the region.

Well, that should not be surprising at all. Xinjiang is the latest attempt by the US to tame, and ultimately destroy China. President Joe Biden actually let the cat out of the bag of diabolical schemes on Thursday evening when he vowed that he will ensure that under his watch China will not become the most wealthy and powerful country.

"They have an overall goal to become the leading country in the world, the wealthiest country in the world, and the most powerful country in the world. That's not gonna happen on my watch," he said.

With former president Donald Trump’s trade war falling flat on its face, Xinjiang is the last straw left for the US to cling to in its fight against its geopolitical rival.

Let’s go back to Xinjiang. The issue revolves around outrageous claims by the US that accuse China of undertaking a genocide of the Uyghur Muslims, an ethnic minority population predominant in the region. The accusations further alleged that the aim of re-education camps of Muslims in Xinjiang is ethnic cleansing.

More absurd claims say that China is carrying out forced sterilisations on Uighur women and separating children from their families. And in the latest attempt at economic sabotage, China’s accusers claim that Uyghurs are being used as forced labour in the region’s cotton farms. The latter produce some of the finest cotton globally.

But Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, is the recent Chinese official to put the record straight on the baseless claims by the US and its allies.

Addressing a General Assembly meeting to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 19, Bing said claims of “genocide" in Xinjiang were "absurd and a complete lie with ulterior motives," adding that "the US is obsessed with manufacturing lies on the Xinjiang issue, but lies are just lies, and truth shall prevail eventually."

Dai recalled that 64 countries issued a joint statement at the Human Rights Council on March 12 to support China's position on Xinjiang-related matters. He urged the relevant countries to stop using the issue to interfere in China's internal affairs, to stop making unfounded accusations against China in the interest of their political agenda, and to stop using human rights as a cover to hold back developing countries in their development.

Xu Guixiang, deputy director of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee, debunked the lies on Xinjiang during a press conference held by the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing recently.

Facing the facts:

• From 2010 to 2018, the Uygur population in Xinjiang increased by more than 2.5 million, or 25 percent, to approximately 13 million.
• Xinjiang has made unprecedented strides in economic and social development and people's livelihoods have improved.
• From 2010 to 2020, Xinjiang’s Gross Domestic Product increased from 540 billion yuan to 1,380 billion yuan ($212 billion). The per capita disposable income in Xinjiang increased from 16,859 to 23,845 yuan ($3,663).  
• Xinjiang's registered urban unemployment rate has remained below 3.5 percent, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• By the 1982 census, the population with an education level of primary school or above was 7.6 million, accounting for 58 percent of the total population. By the 2010 census, it had increased to 19.3 million, or 89 percent of the total population as a result of nine years of free compulsory education.
• There are 24,000 mosques in Xinjiang.

It is obvious that the West does not want to get first-hand accounts of what is happening in Xinjiang, preferring to get fabricated reports through subterfuge.

Those who really want to know the truth about Xinjiang should take the offer by Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who in a recent press conference on the sidelines of the two sessions asked Western politicians to listen to the voice of 25 million Xinjiang residents hailing from various ethnic groups, instead of indulging in political maneuvering and fabricating issues on Xinjiang to undermine security and stability in the region.

In a previous statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Wang has stated categorically that “the door to Xinjiang is always open. People from many countries who have visited Xinjiang have learned the facts and the truth on the ground. China also welcomes the High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Xinjiang.”