Xinjiang’s Facts Are There for All to See

As President of the Asia Silk Road Group， and a member of the French business community in China in the delegation to visit Xinjiang， having no affiliation or direct or indirect link with the organizers， I am free to talk about good or bad and I would like to make a few remarks and draw the attention of those who will listen to us or read our testimonies.

When we are talking about the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， it is important to think carefully about the consequences， for the Uygurs themselves and their community first， by judging without understanding， by repeating or propagating lies and untruths without having been there to verify for oneself， by carrying baseless rumors， fabricated aberrations and false fabricated testimonies for the media， by not even calling into question the manipulators paid for their actions of destabilization towards China.

The height in my eyes， being the hypocrisy of many politicians， in the west， who criticize and sanction local personalities， who have been working for years， funding， organizing and implementing programs for the well-being， social stability， equality of opportunity， strengthening from education， the fight against radicalism， extremism and religious terrorism which do exactly the same thing， sometimes even worse in all our Western democracies.

Have they at least listened to those they sanction？ Those who are working hard for the integration of all the minorities present in Xinjiang including， of course， the one at the center of the accusations， the Uygur community？ We are well aware that these spurious reports with skewed figures coming from so-called independent experts or institutes， ironically， are paid or financed with public funds.

Finally， when China， accused without reason but gives answers based on real facts and figures， it is she who is treated as a liar. It is really the height of cynicism indecency and hypocrisy. I sincerely wish and hope that one day soon they will have the humility to say that they have been abused in the same way， as for the vial of chemical weapons at the United Nations.

After this preamble， my first observation is the courage， the temerity of the local government， which I congratulate， in the face of international criticism， for keeping a firm course， to implement its social and educational policy， to eradicate poverty in all rural areas， to eradicate extremism and religious radicalism while putting in place soft. The local government has come up with fair solutions to integrate and make Islam， its customs and religious practices coexist harmoniously while respecting the rule of law of Chinese society.

Invent a future for a constantly increasing population， design what will be the sustainable cities of tomorrow in Xinjiang， define trans-regional mobility， in particular with this future forty kilometers express rail and road tunnel that you will build to open up the western region and ethnic areas.

Our group visited traditional villages in the Aksu region， where respect for the traditions of Muslim culture is present everywhere. The architecture there is preserved and restored when possible， if not， rebuilt in conditions of safety and hygiene adapted to the 21st century， for customs， arts， crafts， halal food. Immense efforts of the government are undertaken in the cities and the countryside to maintain and develop this culture so rich of the ethnic and Muslim communities of Xinjiang which in fact make its singularity.

Now let’s talk about freedom of worship in Xinjiang. Nowhere we felt any targeted oppression of Uygur or Muslim ethnic minorities. Muslim citizens of all age and gender live fearlessly， move quietly in the streets， even in traditional costumes， go to pray normally in the 26，000 mosques. I sincerely believe that the work done to eradicate religious extremism is bearing fruit while preserving the gradual integration of respectful Islamism into Chinese society. The facts are there for all to see， and facts speak louder than anything else.

This is why I also wanted to see and visit the Islamic Institute of Urumqi， a university open to all Muslims in Xinjiang， regardless of their ethnic origin， where more than 1，000 students of all ages and social backgrounds learn， thanks to Islamic scholars， the Original Quran， literary Arabic， Mandarin， the laws of the People’s Republic of China and the place of the Muslim religion of its prayers， rites and customs， in a respectful Chinese society.

“There will always be critics who will rise to denounce innovations even on the religious level”， confirms us the director of the Islamic Institute of Xinjiang， Imam Abdureqip Tomurniyaz， well known as a great professor and one of the main Chinese representatives of the Islamic faith as chairman of the Xinjiang Islamic Association， which has put this vast project on the right track， for more than five years， as a spiritual and inspiring guide of the Islamic community and Uygurs in Xinjiang. It takes that drive， that determination， and that courage to make behavior changes and things to move forward in a positive way with new methods， and that’s what we have seen when we come here.

Pierre Mirochnikoff is a Member of the Board of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China， and Chairman of the Asian Silk Road Group