Terrorism: An Event of the past for Xinjiang?

By John Maryon

Evening in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

With a population of 1.43 billion, People's China is the most populous country in the world.

Since Mao Zedong proclaimed the people's republic in 1949, the state has changed from an undeveloped peasant society to become the world's second largest and fastest growing economy, and in so doing ended centuries of unrelenting poverty.

Today, with a mixed economy, which includes a powerful state sector, China leads the world in production output. Investment into infrastructure, scientific research and production technology have combined to enable companies to match world standards whilst leading the field in areas such as 5G.

China has some 38,000km of high speed rail network connecting over 550 major cities that along with conventional trains, expanding air routes and impressive new motorways, link this vast country with a land surface area of 9,597 million square kilometres.

Along with the main Han majority there are 55 minority ethnic groups, of which of which the Zhuang, Man and Uyghur are the largest. In addition to the Standard Chinese, there are nine regional languages.

The Chinese Communist Party has led the transition to build a new, modern industrial society raising people's hopes and aspirations as they strive to create a super state based upon socialism with Chinese characteristics.

In 2003, Yang Liwei became China's first cosmonaut to carry out a successful flight aboard the {Shenzhou 5} spacecraft. This demonstrated the scientific and technical potential of a new state with a dynamic economy. A new force had arisen that would be able to challenge the dominant role played by the USA since the Second World War. A serious miscalculation had been made by the Imperialists who had assumed that China would remain a source of cheap labour and profit.

People's China has in the minds of the Imperialists been far too successful with its stable long-term growth and growing influence. In particular, China's ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) for trade and investment into infrastructure is transforming international business relations to the mutual benefit of all parties.

Instead of becoming more competitive and rising to the challenges of the modern world, US imperialism has reacted with threats and sanctions. Not only to China and its businesses, but also to its trading partners. In addition to bully boy tactics the USA has initiated a propaganda campaign based upon claims of massive human rights violations against ethnic and religious minorities in China. Unlike the indigenous peoples’ of north America whose society has been destroyed however, China's minorities are able to thrive and prosper.

The latest anti-Chinese campaign focuses upon the alleged plight of the Uyghur in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The province, which is arid and mountainous, lies in the far southwest of the country and is largely undeveloped. Xinjiang shares borders with five other states including Afghanistan and Pakistan, where millions of US troops, mercenaries and CIA agents have been active. The region has large reserves of natural gas and is a logistical centre for the BRI.

There is alarm and fear within the USA of the vast economic potential of the BRI coupled with a strong desire to hamper its progress. Hostility towards China can be seen by its threats in the South China sea and support for separatist movements in Tibet, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The USA and its subservient bourgeois western media have accused the Chinese government of sending up to one million Uyghur into concentration camps. To justify these allegations the United Nations (UN) was named as the source of information. So what are the true facts?

For a start, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has said that no UN bodies have made such a charge against China. The actual allegation was made by an American, using unsourced claims, representing an 'independent' agency. A group of 22 non-Muslim, western pro-imperialist countries sent a letter to the UN critical of China. A much larger group of 54 countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America then sent a letter in support of China.

Fanatical groups can be turned violent by religious extremism. In Xinjiang, terrorists killed hundreds and injured thousands more in a series of attacks on people going about their daily lives. Using bombs, long knives and driving trucks into groups of people, the terrorists embarked upon a campaign of mass murder. The USA will try to recruit such individuals to do its dirty work. Up to 5,000 Turkic-speaking Muslim Uyghurs were transported to the Turkish–Syrian border to join imperialist-backed forces opposing the Syrian government.  The USA uses such people and then dumps them or sends them to face the horrors of Guantanamo Bay.

People's China has been determined to follow a completely different path when dealing with radical groups. Following the terrorist attacks in Xinjiang it was decided to adopt a programme using vocational education and training centres. The aim was to involve the radicals in education and skills training so that they could play a full part in the development of the region. The programme has been a total success and there have been no terrorist incidents since 2017.

This has been another setback for the USA. The young people of Xinjiang are now playing their full part in developing the infrastructure of their homeland and helping to build a socialist state.