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Special Correspondent

Over the years the government of China has implemented counter-terrorism and extremism measures in the autonomous region of Xinjiang. These measures have proven to be effective and developmental to the people of Xinjiang, who had deeply suffered from terrorism and extremism for the past two decades. Some of these measures have managed to bring peace, security and development to the region and developing countries can borrow such measures for the development of their countries.

Xinjiang (officially Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region) is the largest province-level division of China and the 8th largest subdivision in the World. It is home to over 21 million people of different ethnicity that include the Uygur, Han, Kazakhs, Tibetans, Russians, Hui, Tajiks, Kyrgyz, Mongols and Xibe.  Xinjiang has been a part of China ever since it obtained independence in 1949, although the Mongols claim the territory. It gained the status of autonomous region in 1955.

In the last decades the influence of radical Islamist, terrorist attacks, ethnic conflicts and clashes between separatist and government forces have resulted in unrest in the region. It is reported that there had been several thousand cases of violent terrorism in Xinjiang since the 1990s, and several thousand innocent people were killed or injured. These attacks took a heavy toll on the life and property of the local people and their freedom of religious belief and other fundamental human rights. Groups such as the Turkistan Islamic Party have claimed responsibility for many terrorist attacks in the region and are believed to have links to Al Qaeda. Xinjiang was also characterised with sporadic ethnic conflicts between the Han and Uygur ethnic groups which resulted in further division and misunderstanding in the region. Henceforth China’s plan of action can be seen as an effort to unite its people culturally for the development of the nation.

In a move to bring peace and security to the region and country at large, the government of China enacted preventive measures aimed at uniting the region and preventing further terrorist attacks and ethnic conflicts. These measures are in conformity with the laws of the People’s Republic of China and global practices. According to the UN Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, poverty, unemployment, the absence of alternative employment opportunities and low levels of education are the background causes of violent extremism along with the distortion and exploitation by violent extremist groups of religious beliefs. The Plan of Action suggests early engagement and complementing the actions to counter violent extremism with preventive measures. China implemented the famous “Transformation Through Education Plan”. In this course of action, China enlisted several thousand Xinjiang residents into education and training centres in Xinjiang. According to the State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, these education and training centres are schools that help the people concerned free themselves from the influence of extremism and terrorism, and acquire professional skills that will benefit them.

These centres have recorded significant progress as there hasn’t been any single report of violent terrorist attacks in the past three years. Residents of Xinjiang have expressed their uttermost happiness with such an initiative as it has managed to preserve peace and security in the region. Various western media outlets and governments have smeared this initiative as similar to the concentration camps in World War 2. It can be noted that this is just a mere effort to discredit the initiatives being made by the Chinese government in a bid to bring peace, unity, security, religious freedom and economic development to the region and the nation at large.

Likewise the Zimbabwean Government, in the past, has initiated similar efforts in an effort of bringing peace, security and development to the nation. In 2001, it introduced the National Youth Service. This programme targeted youths from the ages of 10 to 30. Its stated purpose was to transform and empower youths for nation building through life skills training and leadership development.

It also aimed to inculcate national values, ethos and ethics into the youths thereby bringing peace, security and development to the nation.

Although criticised by the West, the National Youth Service programme managed to cut across racial, religious, cultural and political lines creating patriotic Zimbabweans dedicated to the development and success of their nation

Although criticised by the West for gross human rights violation, the programme managed to cut across racial, religious, cultural and political lines creating patriotic Zimbabweans dedicated to the development and success of their nation.

China has over the years contributed to the success and economic development of the region. Wang Yi, in his keynote speech at a dinner co-hosted by the national committee on US-China relations, US-China Business Council, US Chamber of Commerce and Council on Foreign Relations in New York, indicated the progress made by the region over the years as a result of the government’s intervention in preserving its religion and culture.

He indicated that in the past 64 years since the region was established, the local economy has grown by 80 times and tens of thousands of local people have been lifted out of poverty.

There are now over 28 000 religious sites in Xinjiang, and close to 30 000 clerical personnel. Both figures have increased by tenfold compared with several decades ago. Nowadays, every 530 Muslim people in Xinjiang have a mosque on average, which is higher than many Muslim countries.

All this development can be attributed to the stern efforts being done by the Chinese government. However, where there is something positive there are other elements that want to portray the negative. So is the case of 22 western countries who wrote to the UN Human Rights Council criticising China on the Xinjiang case. 50 countries, including major Islamic countries, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation have backed China’s official narrative in a signed letter to the UN, but among the 22 countries that have signed the competing letter supporting the western narrative none were Islamic which goes on to show the malicious intentions of the western narrative.

The principle of state sovereignty indicates that each state has the control to determine events and policies in its territory. China exercised such control as a way of bringing peace and security to its people and those elements that say otherwise are either trying to tarnish the good deeds being done by China or have a hidden agenda.

Meddling in the internal affairs of China not only worsens relations between China and those nations, but destroys the global agenda of promoting unity and respect of fundamental principles. Recently the US has imposed visa restrictions on Chinese government and Communist party officials accused of being involved in the mass internment of more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang province.

The restrictions, announced by the US state department on Tuesday, come a day after the US commerce department imposed export restrictions on US companies preventing them from selling their products — particularly face recognition and other surveillance technology — to 28 Chinese entities, including the Public Security Bureau and firms involved in surveillance in Xinjiang. In the same vein the US government and other western countries imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe thereby crippling its economy and bringing chaos and mayhem to what was once the bread basket of Africa.

These sanctions not only show the ill-intentions of the US government, but show that this is their way of action into meddling into the internal affairs of countries thereby violating state sovereignty. China’s preventive measures against terrorism and extremism are commendable as it was a necessary action in bringing peace and security to the Xinjiang Autonomous region.