16 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 1, 2019 http://www.bjreview.comA^
group of journalists from 24 countries
visited northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Region on July 14-22 at
the invitation of the State Council Information
2IĶFH
Besides Chinese journalists, others
from countries including the United States,
Russia, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey
and Iran, interacted extensively with local
farmers, students, clerics, workers as well
as trainees at vocational education and
training centers.
They agreed that the Chinese
Government has made progress in cracking
down on and preventing terrorism accord-
ing to the law, safeguarding the religious
freedom of its citizens, preserving the tra-
ditional culture of minority ethnic groups
and improving people’s livelihood.$QWLWHUURULVPóHIIRUWV
Since the 1990s, the three forces of ter-
rorism, separatism and extremism both
at home and abroad have plotted and
organized thousands of violent terrorist
activities, gravely damaging the stabil-
ity, solidarity and progress in Xinjiang and
trampling the fundamental human rights
to life, health, property and development
for its people.
At the Xinjiang International Convention
and Exhibition Center, the media del-
egation watched an exhibition on major
terrorist cases in the region.
Edvard Chesnokov, Deputy Director
of the International News Department of
Komsomolskaya Pravda, a Russian news-
paper, said terrorism is a global threat, and
combating it and building a peaceful soci-
ety are the shared goals of all countries.
In recent years, Xinjiang has focused on
the prevention of terrorism by striking at
the root and source of the problem. It aims
to forestall terrorist attacks by providing a“I saw genuine smiles on the faces of
the trainees I interviewed, and I can tell
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the center,” Alrabie said.Cultures and traditions
preserved
During the nine-day tour, the delegation
visited a number of religious institutions,
including the Xinjiang Islamic Institute in
Urumqi, capital city of the autonomous
region, and the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar,
and inquired about the training of religious
personnel and the maintenance of reli-
gious sites.
Khaled Jihad Abdul-Razzaq Al-Saleh, a
journalist from the Saudi Arabian newspa-
per Al-Watan, said he didn’t see any person
whose religious freedom was interfered
with, adding that the Muslims in Xinjiang
enjoy the freedom to practice their religion.
Hashemi Seyedeh Sepideh Seyed
Hashem, a reporter from the Iranian
Students News Agency, commended
the measures taken by the Chinese
Government to protect religious freedom.
“It’s good to see everyone is free to choose
their own religious beliefs,” she said.
The journalists also visited the Xinjiang
Muqam Art Troupe in Urumqi, the handi-
crafts bazaar in the old city of Kashgar and
the Kirgiz embroidery research center in
Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture. They
interviewed local artists and craftspeople
and were treated to a number of cultural
performances.
Sakchai Pruedthipak, President of
http://www.salika.co, a Thai social media website,
said the performances demonstrated the
Chinese Government’s efforts to conserve
ethnic traditions and cultures.
After watching a dance drama at
the Xinjiang Grand Theater in the city
of Changji, Syed Jawwad, CEO of India’splatform for the people who have been in-
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minor crimes so they can transform their
thoughts, learn the Mandarin language,
boost their legal awareness and master vo-
cational skills.
There have been no violent terror
crimes in Xinjiang in the past 30 months,
authorities said.
“The preventive measures taken by
the Chinese Government against terrorism
have been effective and provide a model
for other countries to learn from,” said
Obidov Mukhammad Dalimovich, President
of the Fergana regional branch of the
Creative Union of Journalists of Uzbekistan.
At the vocational education and train-
ing centers in the city of Artux and the
counties of Shule, Wensu and Moyu, the
journalists inquired in great detail about
the trainees’ life and education.
The trainees study Mandarin and laws,
and take practical courses in dressmaking,
auto repair, hairdressing, e-commerce,
electrical work and farming.
At the center in Shule, the journalists
were impressed by the spacious buildings,
well-equipped lodging facilities and the
ethnic dance performances put on by the
trainees.
“This is a school, not a concentration
camp,” said Paolo Salom, Deputy Director
of the International Department of the
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. “It’s
a place where people learn not only laws
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and cope in modern society. To overcome
extremism through education, no doubt, is
the right way.”
Abdulaziz Raddad A. Alrabie, Director of
WKH0HFFDRIĶFHRIOkaz, a Saudi Arabian
newspaper, said the vocational education
and training center is in no way a “concen-
tration camp,” but a school where people
with extremist thoughts are transformed.FOR JUSTICE AND
CIVILIZATION
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