URUMQI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- "Genocide," "forced labor," "concentration camp"... This is the picture Western media painted for China's Xinjiang. But what is the real situation on the ground?
Political party leaders from various countries have spoken up about what China's western region of Xinjiang is really like.
When addressing the "genocide" and "forced labor" allegations by Western media, Dogu Perincek, chairman of the Patriotic Party of Turkey, said, "of course we all know that these lies were fabricated by the West, which, we can see, are far from the real situation."
Perincek said, "when they said that 'genocide' was carried out in Xinjiang, they should see that Xinjiang's population growth was at the forefront among China's provinces; when they said that China set up 'concentration camps,' they should see that the education and training centers set up by the government not only provide vocational skills training to local people, but also provide education in Chinese, as well as education in law. Because of these three aspects of education, the locals' knowledge level has also been improved. So from this perspective, the so-called 'forced labor' and 'genocide' are all imperialist conspiracies."
In 2020, China's Xinjiang has registered better-than-expected economic growth despite the impact of COVID-19. With continued stability over the years, local people's sense of contentment and happiness has been consolidated and rural residents are among the biggest beneficiaries.
Xinjiang's economy expanded 3.4 percent year on year in 2020, 1.1 percentage points higher than the national GDP growth, according to the local government work report delivered to the annual session of the regional legislature earlier this month.
The economic expansion has coincided with a period of improved, sustained stability in the region.
Xinjiang has "completely reversed the past situation marked by frequent violent terrorist activities, with no occurrence of terrorist incidents across the region over the past more than four years," said Shohrat Zakir, chairman of the regional government, as he delivered the work report.
"People of all ethnic groups have significantly increased their sense of fulfillment, happiness and security," Shohrat Zakir said.
Xinjiang will stay committed to fighting terrorism and maintaining stability with effective, law-based measures, he said.
Kawa Mahmoud, secretary of the Central Committee of the Kurdistan Communist Party/Iraq, visited Urumqi in Xinjiang a few years ago. Taking note of the advancements in the anti-terror campaign in Xinjiang, Mahmoud said, "terrorism is a public enemy of the world. We believe that in general, the counter-terrorism measures taken in China, especially in Xinjiang, are very successful."
With regard to some Western media's biased reports on Xinjiang, Gyula Thurmer, president of the Hungarian Workers' Party, said his party "will use our channels to report truthfully and objectively what happened in Xinjiang. As some mainstream Western media in Europe will not report the facts, our task is to tell facts to the people."
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
