Scholar releases Xinjiang report, identifying three major fallacies in Western media
By Fan
Lingzhi
A
Chinese scholar with renowned expertise on Xinjiang studies on Friday, December
6, released a report analyzing the so-called leaked files on Xinjiang. The
report pointed out three big mistakes made by Western media outlets when they
hyped the files.
Zhang
Yonghe, professor and executive dean of the Human Rights Institution of
Southwest University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing, released the
9,000-word report on Friday, which introduced the counter-terrorism and
de-radicalization efforts in Northwest China’s Uyghur Autonomous Region in
three parts: Reality Basis, Legal Basis and Main Ways.
Zhang’s
report is a direct response to the “leaked files” that have been hyped by some
Western media.
On
November 16, The New York Times
published a report claiming it obtained 403 pages of “internal documents,”
which “provided an unprecedented inside view of the continuing clampdown in
Xinjiang.”
On
November 28, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)
released the so-called “China Cables” which it claimed included “classified”
official documents in Xinjiang.
Zhang
told the Global Times that he and his
team quickly drafted the report shortly after the Western media began to hype
the so-called leaked documents. Focusing on Xinjiang research for nearly a
decade and having accumulated substantial materials, they managed to complete a
substantive report in a timely manner.
“We
chose to elaborate from a macro point of view because the so-called
authenticity that the West pays attention to is actually a trap. Even if we
clarify the rumors, they can always make up a new ‘internal document,’” Zhang
said.
Zhang’s
report showed clearly how the “leaked files” smear China’s counter-terrorism
and de-radicalization efforts in Xinjiang and it’s a deeply constructed farce
by Western media.
Based on
the analysis of Western media’s reports on the “leaked files,” Zhang found
three major fallacies. First, these Western media outlets deliberately ignored
the international consensus on the dangers of terrorism. Second, they seriously
distorted Chinese government’s stance on counter-terrorism. Third, Western
media used arbitrary imagination to depict counter-terrorism and
de-radicalization work in Xinjiang.
These
literary-style media reports showed how sloppy their evidence is, read Zhang’s
report. For instance, the so-called leaked internal documents said some
students learned that their family members are receiving education programs to
help them get rid of extremism in vocational education and training centers
when the students returned to their hometowns on vacation. Western media
reasoned this was because the trainees at the centers are “illegally detained.”
As some “leaked files” mentioned the prevention of escape, these Western media
claimed that Xinjiang is undergoing “mandatory persecution” based on it.
“The
Western media’s indulgence in such ‘imagination’ shows its ignorance of
Xinjiang’s counter-terrorism and de-radicalization work,” Zhang said.
Therefore,
in his report’s Reality Basis part, it elaborates the grim situation of
spreading terrorism in Xinjiang in the past from the perspective of history,
geography and the humanities.
“When I
went to Xinjiang for research in the early years, we were surprised by the
erosion of extremism among some local people. From treating people to everyday
life, extremism thoughts have penetrated into every aspect of some people’s
lives. For example, even feminine hygiene products are needed to be
distinguished as ‘halal’ or not. It’s ridiculous,” Zhang said.
He noted
that at that time many people in Xinjiang did not speak the national common
language and village regulations prevailed above the law. They did not have the
professional skills required for employment.
To
improve this situation, Xinjiang regional government has taken a series of
counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures in recent years. Among them,
setting up vocational education and training centers is mostly attacked in the
West. Zhang’s report showed the legal basis for the centers. The Xinjiang
regional government had stipulated regional regulations on counter-terrorism
and de-radicalization in accordance with the Constitution and national laws.
The
vocational education and training centers are not designed to deprive or
restrict personal freedom but is an implementation of the counter-terrorism
law. It is implemented based on principles, including counter-terrorism in
accordance with law, combination of punishment and prevention, combination of
leniency and strictness, addressing both symptoms and root causes, and the
prohibition of discrimination.
A series
of decisive measures taken by Xinjiang have stepped out of the traditional “passive
counter-terrorism” mode, but managed to avoid following the “preemptive strike”
and “war-like” mode adopted by some Western countries, read the report.
Under
the protection of complete national counter-terrorism strategy and a
de-radicalization legal system, Xinjiang has carried out the fight against
terrorism and extremism in accordance with the law, which effectively curbed
the frequent occurrence of terrorist activities. It also conducted extensive
international cooperation in counter-terrorism and de-radicalization,
protecting the basic rights of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang and safeguarding
national unity against terrorism and extremism, said the report.
“However,
Western media is still obsessed with imagination. They are unwilling to know
the truth and even scared to see the truth, because there will be no room for
their imagination then,” Zhang said.
Zhang
lamented that under the long-standing ideological separation, Western media are
accustomed to set the tone that whatever China does, it is wrong.
“No
matter what, mainstream Western media will still be biased, but we still have
to spread the true voice. After all, this world is not just about the United
States and Western countries,” Zhang said.
Source:Global Times
Autumn in Altay,
Xinjiang. (Photo by Zhang Xinya from People’s Daily Online)
Scholar releases Xinjiang report, identifying three major fallacies in Western media
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