Social stability key to Xinjiang human rights

In the course of promoting human rights, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has prioritized people's right to social stability and utilized its fruit as the foundation to propel all-around advances in the economic, cultural, social and religious development of all ethnic groups, experts said. 

"Xinjiang has not seen any violent terrorist incidents for nearly seven consecutive years, enhancing the public's sense of security to an unprecedented level," said Erkin Tuniyaz, chairman of the regional government, who attributed it to law-based governance and the normalization of counter-terrorism efforts in the region.

He made the remarks on Wednesday at a conference sharing ideas and stories on promoting the high-quality development of the human rights cause in Xinjiang within the Chinese modernization drive, where the first blue book on Xinjiang's human rights and legal protections was also released.

In alignment with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Xinjiang's achievements in human rights meet the expectations and aspirations of residents and are an indispensable component of China's human rights cause, said Jiang Jianguo, deputy director of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee's Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee.

Jiang emphasized that the crackdown on violent terrorism, ethnic separatism and religious extremism was one of the characteristics of Xinjiang's human rights stories. In addition, Xinjiang's endeavors toward poverty alleviation, which benefited around 3 million rural residents, the harmonious coexistence of various ethnic groups and respect toward the freedom of religious belief also figured prominently.

The safe social environment has also brought about growth in tourism. The number of tourists visiting Xinjiang reached a record 260 million this year, 5.3 times that in 2012, Erkin said.

Xinjiang residents' per capita disposal income climbed from 13,700 yuan ($1,900) in 2013 to 27,000 yuan in 2022, he said.

Xinjiang has allocated more than 70 percent of fiscal expenditure to guarantee people's livelihoods in areas such as employment and education for years. "People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have the most say in the human rights situation in Xinjiang," Erkin said.