Let better sense prevail in Xinjiang

Last week's terrorist attacks on ordinary people in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region seem to be the handiwork of some extremists who, over the years, have corrupted some Xinjiang people with their doctrine and even trained a few to carry out terrorist attacks.

The most horrifying aspect of the attacks was the deaths of 24 innocents, including 16 Uygurs. Such heinous attacks on any ethnic group are dastardly acts that deserve to be strongly condemned.

So who is the real target of these terrorists? And what do they want? The terrorist attacks in recent years have misled the world to believe that the Chinese government is blind to the poverty in remote regions and does not care about ethnic groups floundering in underdevelopment and misery. We who live and work in China know that this is not true. But the need is to let the rest of the world know the reality.

Since Uygurs are Muslims, and Muslim extremists often lead such violent attacks, Muslims across the world end up getting a bad name and becoming the target of other people's hatred. If the extremists who resort to violence really love their people, they should stop tarnishing the image of their fellow believers.

I have traveled across China, from North to South and from West to East. In 2007, I interviewed about 50 people of different ages, ethnic groups, cultural backgrounds and areas of activity for my book, These Wonderful People of Xinjiang - which is not only the title of a book but also a declaration of love.