A group of journalists from 24 countries visited northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from July 14 to 22 at the invitation of China's State Council Information Office.
During the trip, the journalists, from countries including China, the United States, Russia, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran, interacted extensively with local farmers, students, clerics, workers as well as trainees at vocational education and training centers.
They agreed that the Chinese government has made progress in cracking down on and preventing terrorism according to the law, safeguarding the religious freedom of its citizens, preserving traditional culture of minor ethnic groups and improving people's livelihoods.
ANTI-TERRORISM EFFORTS
Since the 1990s, the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism both at home and abroad plotted and organized thousands of violent terrorist activities and gravely damaged the stability, solidarity and progress of Xinjiang, trampling the fundamental human rights to life, health, property and development for the people in Xinjiang.
At the Xinjiang International Convention &Exhibition Center, the media delegation watched an exhibition on major terrorist cases in the region.
Edvard Chesnokov, deputy director of the international news department of Komsomolskaya Pravda, a Russian newspaper, said terrorism is a global threat, and combating terrorism and building a peaceful society are the shared goals of all countries.
In recent years, Xinjiang has focused on the prevention of terrorism by striking at the root and source of the problems. It aims to forestall terrorist attacks by providing a platform for the people who have been influenced by extremist thoughts and committed minor crimes so they can transform their thoughts, learn the Mandarin language, boost legal awareness and master vocational skills.
There have been no violent terror crimes in Xinjiang in the past 30 months, authorities said.
"The preventive measures taken by the Chinese government against terrorism have been effective and provided a model for other countries to learn from," said Obidov Mukhammad Dalimovich, president of the Fergana regional branch of the Creative Union of Journalists of Uzbekistan.
At the vocational education and training centers in the city of Artux and the counties of Shule, Wensu and Moyu, the journalists inquired in great detail about the life and education of the trainees.
The trainees study Mandarin, knowledge on laws, and take practical courses on dressmaking, auto repair, hairdressing, e-commerce, electrical work, planting and farming.
At the center in Shule County, the journalists were impressed by the spacious buildings, well-equipped lodging facilities as well as the ethnic dance performances by the trainees.
"This is a school, not a concentration camp," said Paolo Salom, deputy director of the international department of the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera. "It's a place where people learn not only laws and regulations but also how to find a job and cope in modern society. To overcome extremism through education, no doubt, is the right way."
Abdulaziz Raddad A. Alrabie, director of the Mecca office of Okaz, a Saudi Arabian newspaper, said the vocational education and training center is in no way a "concentration camp," but a school where people with extremist thoughts are transformed.
"I saw genuine smiles on the faces of the trainees I interviewed, and I can tell they are satisfied with their life and study at the center," Alrabie said.
