BEIJING – China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region enjoys social stability andsound economic development while people belonging to all ethnic groupsincluding Muslims are living in complete harmony, a senior official said onTuesday.
“Our anti-extremism and anti-terrorism efforts are not against anyparticularreligion or ethnic group,” Xi Guixiang, Deputy Director of PublicityDepartmentof Xinjiang, Uygur Autonomous Region and relevant experts said whilebriefingforeign media here.
He said the region’s government fully protects normal religious activitiesand needs of believers and makes great efforts to improve the conditions ofreligious venues and activities.
“We protect believers’ normal religious activities and needs and make greatefforts to improve the conditions of religious venues and activities,” headded.
About efforts for fighting and preventing terrorism, the official said from1999 to the end of 2016, separatist, terrorist and extremist forceslaunched thousands of terrorist attacks in Xinjiang, killing ordinarypeople, assassinating religious leaders, endangering public security,attacking government organs, and planning riots.
So far, Xinjiang has seen no violent terrorist attack for three consecutiveyears, with infiltration of extremism being effectively contained, he added.
He said the training centers and vocational education are designed to savethose who committed minor crimes or offences, adding, all the trainees havegraduated and got jobs with the support of government.
Xu informed that China and Islamic countries have friendly relations andChina believes in non-interference. “Islamic countries have given us strongsupport, Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) adopted a resolution inour support and appreciated China for protecting the rights of peopleparticularly Muslims.”
He said that ambassadors and senior diplomats and journalists from variouscountries visited Xinjiang and expressed their complete satisfaction overthe situation in the province.
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In a joint declaration, a number of foreign ambassadors based in Beijingrejected propaganda against China regarding its measure to bring stabilityin Xinjiang.
Rexiati Musajiang from Hotan said, Xinjiang is the biggest province thathas borders with eight countries. It is home to multi-ethnic minoritygroups and 24 million local people practice different religions.
Xinjiang has seen a tourism boom in recent years. The number of tourists toXinjiang exceeded 150 million last year, up 40.1 percent. The region isexpected to welcome over 200 million tourists this year, he added.
He said the more than 200 million people including foreign tourists havevisited Xinjiang this year.
About poverty alleviation efforts, he said more than 2.38 million people inXinjiang have been lifted out of poverty since 2014 and the people in theregion are now enjoying a growing sense of fulfillment, happiness, andsecurity.
In Xinjiang, there are more than 24,000 mosques, representing a mosque forevery 530 Muslims on average.
A short video containing CCTV camera recordings of different terroristattacks in Xinjiang during the last decade was also shown during thebriefing.
