XINJIANG’S anti-terrorism and deradicalization measures are no different from those of the U.S., Shohrat Zakir, chairman of the Xinjiang regional government, said in Beijing yesterday.

Shohrat Zakir voiced his condemnation of the U.S. House’s approval of the Xinjiang-related bill during a State Council Information Office press conference on Xinjiang’s situation.

Four Xinjiang local officials, including Shohrat Zakir, met with journalists to talk about the region’s stability and development.

Social stability

Noting that peace and stability in Xinjiang today didn’t come easy, Shohrat Zakir said the region has made relentless efforts in both fighting and preventing terrorism in accordance with the law.

Incomplete statistics show that from 1990 to the end of 2016, separatist, terrorist and extremist forces launched thousands of terrorist attacks in Xinjiang, killing ordinary people, assassinating religious leaders, endangering public security, attacking government organs and planning riots.

The official introduced that to address the root cause of terrorism and eradicate the conditions that breed terrorism and religious extremism, Xinjiang made efforts in improving the people’s wellbeing and enhancing legal publicity and education.

He stressed that the vocational education and training centers, which are established lawfully, are designed to save those who committed petty crimes or minor offenses while being involved in terrorist and extremist activities.

Economic growth

According to Shohrat Zakir, Xinjiang has also witnessed marked progress in its economy thanks to the Central Government’s favorable policies and the region’s vigorous efforts in fostering and developing specialty industries and a modern economic system. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, transfer payments from central finance to Xinjiang have reached nearly 400 billion yuan (US$56.8 billion) every year.

Across the country, 19 provinces and municipalities and central enterprises provided aid to Xinjiang with an annual investment of more than 15 billion yuan, which is mainly used to improve people’s wellbeing.

Ethnic solidarity

Ethnic unity is the lifeline of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, and an essential cornerstone of Xinjiang’s development and progress, Shohrat Zakir emphasized.

He said in Xinjiang, chairpersons of the People’s Congress of the autonomous region, governors of the autonomous regional government and chairpersons of the regional committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CCPCC) are all citizens from the ethnic minorities.

Ethnic minorities account for 62.1 percent of the deputies of the 13th Xinjiang People’s Congress and 46.7 percent of the members of the CCPCC in Xinjiang.

He expressed the determination for safeguarding the rights of various ethnic groups to use and develop their own spoken and written languages according to the law. Radio and television are broadcast in five languages in the region and six languages are used in publication, and audio and video products.

Livelihood improvement

The Xinjiang government has always taken the people’s aspiration for a better life as goal of its work, the chairman of the regional government pointed out.

He said over 70 percent of general public budgetary expenditure is used in ensuring and improving the people’s livelihood.

Shohrat Zakir added the government insisted to put employment and education as the top priorities in improving people’s wellbeing.

The goal of employment is to ensure that at least one person from a family gets employed, he introduced.

For education, the official said the heavier subsidies are given to students from needy families, policy of three years of free pre-school education in rural areas and 15 years of free education in the four prefectures in southern Xinjiang are carried out.

Meanwhile, the enrollment rate in kindergarten has reached 95.95 percent and that in primary schools 99.91 percent.

Religious harmony

In Xinjiang, we fully act on the policy of freedom of religious belief, religious believers and nonbelievers are equal in enjoying political, economic and cultural rights, Shohrat Zakir said.

“We protect believers’ normal religious activities and needs and make great efforts to improve the conditions of religious venues and activities.”

The official gave the example of mosques in Xinjiang having been equipped with basic facilities such as running water, electricity, natural gas and new equipment. (CGTN)