Fight against Terrorism and Extremism in Xinji-ang: Truth and Facts

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rights”. Pretending to care about the human rights condition of the people of var-
ious ethnic groups there, their real aim is to destabilize Xinjiang and suppress
China. Such despicable plots are doomed to fail.117
Conclusion
Facts speak louder than words, and truth is not to be tampered with. Xinjiang’s
counter-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts have achieved remarkable outcomes.
Taking stock of its practice, we can draw the following conclusions:
(1) Xinjiang adheres to the principle that everyone is equal before the law, and
the accusation that its policy is “based on ethnic discrimination” is groundless.
The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China stipulates that “All ethnic groups of
the People’s Republic of China are equal. The state shall protect the lawful rights and
interests of all ethnic minorities and uphold and promote relations of equality, unity,
mutual assistance and harmony among all ethnic groups. Discrimination against and
oppression of any ethnic group are prohibited; any act that undermines the unity of
ethnic groups or creates divisions among them is prohibited.” The principles and the
spirit of the Constitution are fully embodied in Xinjiang’s fight against terrorism and
extremism, which never targets any particular region, ethnicity or religion, but aims to
realize the equal rights of all ethnic groups. This is the purpose and the goal of Xinji-
ang’s counter-terrorism and de-radicalization policy. The allegation that the policy is
“formulated based on ethnic discrimination” is untenable, and is a gross distortion and
smear of Xinjiang’s efforts.
(2) The counter-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts in Xinjiang have been
all along conducted on the track of the rule of law, and are by no means the alleged118
“suppression of ethnic minorities”. Xinjiang’s fight against terrorism and extremism
follows clearly specified legal and policy framework, complies with the spirit of an-
ti-terrorism conventions and documents of the United Nations, and is consistent with
international human rights law. The Constitution and other laws of China as well as
regional laws and regulations of Xinjiang all strictly define the authority and respon-
sibility of the legislative body, the judicial organ and the law enforcement agencies.
These authorities have exercised their legal mandate in strict accordance with the laws
of China and relevant judicial interpretations and under rigorous legal supervision in
accordance with law. The allegations of “massive detention”, “arbitrary detention” and
“abuse of justice” are unfounded.
(3) The vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang are learning
facilities established in accordance with law intended for de-radicalization, and
are by no means the so-called “concentration camps”. The centers mainly teach
the national language, laws and regulations and vocational skills to achieve the goal
of de-radicalization, with the aim of educating and rehabilitating people influenced by
religious extremism and involved in minor crimes or violations of law. The centers put
people first, exercise standardized management, and provide people-centered services,
with no restriction on trainees’ personal freedom, freedom of correspondence or cul-
tural rights. This has been confirmed by the many accounts of graduated trainees. The
groundless allegations that “millions of ethnic minority people are detained”, “male
trainees receive brutal torture and female trainees suffer sexual assault” and “trainees
are subject to mandatory sterilization, removed of their liver and kidney, and abused to
death” are nothing but sensational fake news fabricated by anti-China forces in the US
and the West manipulating several “actors”.
(4) The lawful rights and interests of workers of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang119
are protected, and there is no such thing as “forced labor”. The various labor rights
and interests of ethnic minority workers from Xinjiang are protected under Chinese
laws. They are free to choose their profession, and decide on where to work and which
job to take of their own will. Their personal freedom has never been restricted, and
their rights and interests in terms of religious belief, ethnic culture and spoken and
written language use have been fully safeguarded. Relevant enterprises have provided
them with favorable working and living conditions, to ensure that they live and work at
ease and their families rest assured. Anti-China forces in the US and the West, however,
have deliberately distorted Xinjiang’s practice of helping ethnic minority people get
stable employment, lifting them out of poverty and increasing their incomes as “forced
labor”. Their aim is to deprive the ethnic minority workers of their right to employ-
ment, which amounts to “forced unemployment” and “forced impoverishment”. It is
such attempts that truly infringe upon human rights.
(5) Xinjiang has earnestly safeguarded the human rights of people of all eth-
nic groups through the combat against terrorism and extremism, and there is no
such thing as “massive violations of rights”. Terrorism and extremism are enemies
for safeguarding human rights. Cracking down on them is a protection, not violation,
of human rights. In the combat against terrorism and extremism, the rights of people
of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, including their right to life and safety, freedom of re-
ligious belief, right to labor and employment, right to free entry and exit and freedom
of correspondence have been fully protected. Some international organizations and
foreign officials have turned a blind eye to these facts, but focused instead on the hu-
man rights condition of the terrorists and extremists who committed heinous crimes,
willingly serving as their umbrella and spokesperson, and even openly endorsed and
cheered them on. These organizations have pit themselves against justice and human120
conscience. They have failed to take an objective, fair and just stance expected of them,
and discredited and disgraced themselves.
We call on the international community to be clear-eyed about the truth of the
combat against terrorism and extremism in Xinjiang, and see through the clumsy per-
formances and malicious motives of anti-China forces in the US and the West, who
attempt to use Xinjiang to contain China. The international community needs to make
the right choice between justice and evil, brightness and darkness, and progress and
retrogression.
We suggest that UN human rights agencies and other international organizations
should investigate the human rights disasters caused and numerous crimes committed
by the US and some other Western countries both at home and abroad. It is important
to bring to light the problems in these countries, such as ignoring the life and health
of their people, condoning racial discrimination, persecuting aboriginal inhabitants,
abusing immigrants, bullying and showing hostility to Muslims, and abusing force and
sanctions against other countries and triggering humanitarian crises. These countries
should be urged to compensate the victims of human rights violations.
We encourage people with a just stance from the international community to visit
Xinjiang, so as to see and feel for themselves what Xinjiang is truly like — with eco-
nomic growth, social stability, better livelihoods, cultural prosperity, ethnic unity and
religious harmony. They will then witness a Xinjiang totally different from the one por-
trayed by anti-China forces in the US and the West. We are also willing to further share
the realities about Xinjiang so that the world will get to know Xinjiang as it truly is.121