Experts Defend Anti-terrorism Effort in Xinjiang

Local residents dance at the International Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, in April. [Photo by Wang Jing/China Daily]

A group of Chinese experts said the United States has been adopting double standards on anti-terrorism and deradicalization and using issues related to China's measures - introduced in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to fight terrorism and religious extremism - as a tool to interfere in China's domestic affairs.

The experts, who specialize in studies in the fields of human rights, international relations and anti-terrorism, made the remarks at a seminar held recently in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang.

Wang Yu, an associate researcher with the Institute of Chinese Borderland Studies, said fighting terrorism and eliminating religious extremism are common global problems. China's anti-terror measures implemented in Xinjiang in recent years, including the establishment of vocational education centers, have provided a new solution to the global fight against terrorism.

As part of the measures adopted to prevent violent attacks and eliminate the breeding of religious extremism, Xinjiang has set up such centers around the region in accordance with the local anti-extremism regulation.

The centers give free classes on the country's common language, impart knowledge of the law and provide vocational skills for the trainees who have been influenced by terrorism and extremism and are suspected of minor criminal offenses. The centers have proved effective in eliminating religious extremism, Shohrat Zakir, chairman of the regional government, said in March.

For some time, Xinjiang has seen frequent incidents of terrorist attacks. However, there have been no such incidents in the region for nearly three years thanks to those measures. Furthermore, the spread of religious extremism, which lead to violent attacks in the past, has also been curbed, Wang said.

Li Wei, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said China's measures on deradicalization offer a successful case study to the international community and have won widespread recognition and acclaim.

Gu Liyan, a researcher with the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, said the US uses human rights issues to erode public trust in governments of other countries and create social conflict and unrest there to maintain its global power.

"Whatever measures or policies China adopted to fight terrorism and religious extremism will never accord with the so-called human rights standards of the US," she said. "Its goal is to cause conflicts in China and create obstacles during the country's development."

The propaganda warfare waged by the US and some other Western countries against China on Xinjiang-related issues is unable to conceal their strategic anxiety and predicament, said Shu Hongshui, an anti-terrorism expert at Northwest University of Political Science and Law.