In today’s world, security is the foundation of development, while development is a pathway to security.
China attaches great importance to the security of the Middle East, and recently held the Middle East Security Forum in Beijing. At the forum, nearly 200 representatives from various countries, including Saudi Arabia, discussed possible solutions to the main security issues in the Middle East in order to pursue stability and development.
Terrorism and extremist ideologies are a menace to the entire world. Both China and the Arab world are victims of terrorism. From 1990 to 2016, separatists, extremists and terrorists plotted and carried out several thousand acts of terrorism in Xinjiang and other places in China, causing the deaths of numerous civilians from all ethnic backgrounds, and enormous amounts of property damage. In the “July 5” incident in Xinjiang that shocked the world in 2009, 197 people were killed and more than 1,700 injured.
The international community must come together to combat these terrorists who betray their countries and beliefs. Unfortunately, some countries apply double standards in combating counter-terrorism — choosing to enforce rules that suit their purposes, but discarding those they deem obstructive, using it as a tool to maintain hegemony and geopolitical competition.
They identify terrorism with specific countries and religions, while turning a blind eye to other countries’ efforts and achievements in safeguarding security and combating terrorism and extremism, and seek to encourage attacks on certain countries under the pretext of democracy and human rights.
Recently, some certain countries and individuals have started to highlight the so-called “Xinjiang issue” again, in an attempt to slander China’s efforts to combat terrorism and de-radicalization, and to sow discord between China and the Islamic world.
The issue Xinjiang faces is not about ethnicity, religion or human rights. Rather, it is about fighting violence, terrorism and separatism. At the third session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination not long ago, more than 60 countries — including many friendly Islamic countries — all supported China by commending in their statements the human rights achievements in Xinjiang and the fruits of counter-terrorism and deradicalization, as well as supporting China’s stance over Xinjiang. This illustrated that justice naturally inhabits man’s heart.
China is a diverse country in which all religions, including Islam, are treated equally and coexist in harmony.
According to the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China: “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief.” Muslims in China, particularly in Xinjiang, fully enjoy that freedom of belief. The territory is home to more than 20,000 mosques, 29,000 clerical personnel and eight religious colleges.
China is a diverse country in which all religions, including Islam, are treated equally and co-exist in harmony.
Zhu Xinglong
Moreover, the Chinese government has regularly sent religious students and clerical personnel to colleges and universities in Islamic countries and has established scholarships for them.
Members of all ethnic groups are insistent in their demands that terrorism be punished, and that their lives and property should be protected. Therefore, having drawn on the experience of friendly countries including Saudi Arabia, the Chinese government has taken counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures and eliminated the sources of terrorism and extremism.
The establishment of vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang is a concrete step in China’s implementation of the international community’s counter-terrorism and de-radicalization initiatives, including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism.
The centers help people who have been influenced by extremist and terrorist ideologies, and enable them to master the skills necessary to reintegrate into society through language, law and vocational skills.
There hasn’t been a single violent terrorist incident in Xinjiang for three years now. This shows that the de-radicalization and preventive counter-terrorism measures adopted there have achieved tangible results, and greatly improved the sense of security and happiness of people from all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.
As I understand it, more than 20 other countries have implemented similar compulsory programs for terrorists. For example, the UK set up the Desistance and Disengagement Program for convicted terrorists. France has established de- radicalization centers in major communities nationwide, and the US has also introduced “community correction” measures. I believe that the ideas behind these measures are just the same as those behind the vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang.
Since the end of 2018, more than 1,000 representatives have visited the vocational education and training centers, including diplomatic envoys from various countries, officials from international organizations, and media personnel. They have all witnessed the remarkable positive results of Xinjiang’s preventive counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures. They also saw with their own eyes people in Xinjiang enjoying a happy life and the lawful rights of religious freedom and education, and various ethnic groups living in harmony and solidarity.
They agreed after visiting Xinjiang that the counter-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts there are an important contribution to the world and a valuable experience for all to learn from.
As China and many Islamic states are developing countries, China advocates international cooperation to ensure development is effective in removing breeding grounds for terrorism and radical ideologies.
The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013 has won extensive support from, and attracted the participation of, various countries across the world, including Islamic ones. China has signed cooperation documents on the Belt and Road Initiative with 47 Islamic countries.
Gossip dies when it hits a wise person’s ears, and seeing is believing. The Chinese government has always regarded Islamic countries as close partners in promoting shared development, safeguarding peace and stability, and building a secure shared future for mankind. China is willing to work with Islamic countries to build a world of lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity, and to realize the peaceful and sustainable development of humanity.
• Zhu Xinglong is counselor at the Embassy of China in Riyadh.