China issues whitepaper on terrorism

BEIJING: Xinjiang's fight against terrorism and extremism is a battle for justice and civilization against evil and barbaric forces.

As such it deserves support, respect and understanding," it was stated in a whitepaper issued by the China's State Council Information Office.

The paper says, some countries, organizations and individuals that apply double standards to terrorism and human rights have issued unjustified criticism of Xinjiang's effort.

This kind of criticism betrays the basic conscience and justice of humanity, and will be repudiated by all genuine champions of justice and progress, it said.

The white-paper deliberates upon historical matters concerning Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China.

According to the document, China is a unified multiethnic country, and the various ethnic groups in Xinjiang have long been part of the Chinese

nation.

Throughout its long history, Xinjiang's development has been closely related to that of China.

However, in more recent times, hostile forces in and outside China, especially separatists, religious extremists and terrorists, have tried to split

China and break it apart by distorting history and facts.

Xinjiang has long been an inseparable part of Chinese territory. Never has it been the so-called "East Turkistan."

The Uygur ethnic group came into being through a long process of migration and integration, the

white paper said, adding that it is part of the Chinese nation.

In Xinjiang, different cultures and religions coexist, and ethnic cultures have been fostered and developed in the embrace of the Chinese civilization. Islam is neither an indigenous nor the sole belief system of the Uygur people.

It has taken root in the Chinese culture and developed soundly in China, the document said.

The surge in religious extremism around the world has caused a rise in religious extremism in Xinjiang and has resulted in an increasing number of incidents of terror and violence.