Foreign politicians, scholars hail Xinjiang's anti-terrorism efforts

URUMQI - Foreign politicians and scholars have spoken highly of anti-terrorism and de-radicalization measures in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and called for deepening cooperation in the area to tackle future challenges.

They expressed their views via video link at an international symposium held on Monday by the Xinjiang Development Research Center. More than 30 officials, politicians and scholars from 16 countries participated in the symposium.

John Ross, a British scholar and senior fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, blasted some Western media outlets for spreading political lies about Xinjiang that lack sufficient evidence.

Citing Chinese census data that show a growing Uygur population, Ross dismissed the allegation of the so-called genocide in Xinjiang and suggested everyone go there to see the real situation with their own eyes.

Jean Pegouret, president of Saphir Eurasia Promotion agency, accused some Western countries of hyping up the so-called Xinjiang-related issues in an attempt to stir up chaos and hinder China's development.

China has accumulated a lot of experience in combating terrorism and further improved the well-being of people in Xinjiang, said Pegouret.

Uwe Behrens, a German expert on China and a well-known writer, hailed China's effective measures to combat terrorism while improving people's living standards and strengthening ethnic unity.

Behrens, who lived in China for 27 years and once worked in Xinjiang, said China should continue to play its role in maintaining regional peace and stability and unite with other countries to fight terrorism.

His view was echoed by other experts, who expressed high expectations for greater international anti-terrorism cooperation.

"Egypt and China are both victims of terrorism. I hope we can strengthen contacts in the field of anti-terrorism and jointly safeguard peace and stability," said former Egyptian Ambassador to China Ali Hefny.