Nothing can justify terrorist attacks

That the World Uygur Congress (WUC) would do their best to distort the facts and mislead world opinion about the terrorist attacks in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region was probably to be expected. But we are astounded that WUC leader Rebiya Kadeer tried to shift the blame onto the Chinese government when she published a statement about the terrorist attack in Kashgar on July 30 and 31.

She justified the violent attacks that claimed the lives of eight innocent people and injured dozens more by pointing her finger at the policies the Chinese government has adopted to encourage social and economic development in the autonomous region.

Clearly she is quite happy to turn a blind eye to the various preferential policies the central government has been promoting to support the economic growth of the region and improve the lives of Uygurs and residents of other ethnic groups over the past decades.

Although she did not mention "Xinjiang independence" in her statement, she repeatedly used "East Turkistan", which explicitly reveals the relationship between the WUC and extremist forces that has been working to disturb the peace and stability in Xinjiang and fan sentiments against the Chinese government in the name of "East Turkistan".

We know why the WUC and its leader Rebiya Kadeer always twist the facts about what happens in Xinjiang. It is because social stability and the improved standard of living for people of all ethnic groups are the last thing they want to see. No one who now enjoys a better life and the stable social environment will want this region to be "independent".

Rebiya Kadeer and the WUC can say nothing to justify the ruthless attacks against innocent residents, instead they turn the facts upside down and claim "the Chinese government has created an environment of hopelessness and deprived Uygur youth of a future".

This is a lie. Let's look at the true facts. In the five years from 2002 to 2007 alone, central government departments spent 147 million yuan ($22.7 million) in the region lifting 1.05 million local residents out of poverty. Nineteen provinces and municipalities directly under the auspice of the central government started to provide financial aid and other forms of assistance to the 12 prefectures in the region starting from 2010, and Xinjiang's gross domestic product should reach the national average in five years.

The government has also approved Kashgar becoming the country's sixth special economic zone, which means it will enjoy special policies for economic development. There are also preferential university enrollment policies for Uygur residents and residents of other ethnic groups.

All these prove that the central government has always attached great importance to the social and economic development of the region and strives to ensure the prosperity and stability of this remote area. This will not just improve the lives of residents of different ethnic groups but also facilitate the development of the entire country.

The more the rest of the country helps Xinjiang with its development, the harder it is for the central and regional authorities and the public to put up with these ruthless terrorist attacks, which are meant to interrupt and undermine the autonomous region's development and social cohesion.

Separatists and extremists have no right to deprive residents from different ethnic groups of their right to seek a better life in a stable social environment. They are imposing their own will upon the majority of Uygur residents by resorting to violence. And Rebiya Kadeer and her WUC are doing the same by telling lies and twisting the facts.

There can be no justifying terrorism. Terrorism is a threat to innocent lives; it is a threat to development, to peace and to the fundamental principles of human civilization. In the same way, Rebiya Kadeer and her WUC, by trying to justify and condone terrorism with lies and false accusations, are going against humanity.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily.

(China Daily 08/11/2011 page8)