Caption: This author, The Canada Files’ Editor-in-Chief, pictured near the Kizilhaga Beacon Tower in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

Written by: Aidan Jonah

The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China is a truly controversial place in the world, thanks to the machinations of Western imperialists and their Uygur separatist proxies.

While China sought to develop the autonomous region, separatist forces engaged in subversion and eventually terrorism there – including multiple murders of Imams (14:00-15:30). It came to a head after brutal riots in 2009, which Li Wei of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) described – in a 2020 CGTN documentary - as “a classic example of a terrorist attack”. The riots saw 197 killed, forcing the PRC and XUAR leadership to step in to cut down the roots of terrorism, via policing, economic and education efforts. And to the PRC’s great credit, the roots of terrorism were indeed cut down, so much so that an economy, science and technology-oriented individual, Ma Xingrui, could be appointed as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) Party Secretary in 2021.

But in Canada, the CIA-front funded, Canada-based Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, has been a vocal voice against the progress and development in the XUAR, under the guise of fighting ‘genocide’. URAP, and its leader Mehmet Tohti – former Vice-President and a co-founder of World Uyghur Congress – have campaigned determinedly, first to get Canada’s parliament to recognize a non-existent ‘genocide’ in Xinjiang, then to get ‘forced labour’ imports from the XUAR blocked (which would economically harm ordinary citizens there on false grounds) and as that effort continues, they got Canada’s government to commit to bringing 10,000 Uygur ‘refugees’ to Canada, many of whom are likely to be separatists, bolstering the anti-China faction of the overall Chinese diaspora even further. Some Uygur ‘refugees’ are even set to join Canada’s military.

Canada’s elite uses Uygur separatists as middle managers of the Chinese diaspora along with the Tibet separatists and ‘HongKongers’. These middle managers have and will continue to have a detrimental effect on the lives of Canadian citizens by advocating for hostile policy towards China, rather than engagement which can help improve Canadian infrastructure and enable economic development.

So, when The Canada Files received the invite to visit the XUAR as part of a media tour ran by the PRC’s State Information Council Office, it was accepted.

The tour itself was strikingly within the public sphere and took on a balance of a relaxed atmosphere with serious visits and interviews. The relaxed atmosphere became clear when this author spent the taxi ride to the Urumqi hotel holding a Xinjiang welcome sign that was too big to put in the car’s trunk – the tour runners weren’t stuck up individuals.

Throughout the tour, it was clear that we were not shielded from the general public. In fact, some of this author’s favourite memories were going through walking streets and grabbing late night street food as citizens in Xinjiang were out enjoying their night-time activities.

Rather than an evil genocide, or an evil cultural genocide, this author saw a regular, functioning society which was in fact fiercely proud of Uygur culture – promoting it, rather than shunting it to the side.

So, it’s little surprise then, that culture and development continue to rise together in Xinjiang. In Yining, the tour’s visit to the Chabuchar Daily newspaper was a showcase of this reality. Chabuchar Daily, printed in the Xibo language, was founded in 1954. Then-Chinese Premier, Zhou En-Lai, gave the paper a lead casting pot which allowed them to fill in the Xibo characters, which could then be used for printing the newspaper. Since then, the paper has been printed every week.

Caption: The lead casting pot gifted to Chabuchar Daily by former Chinese Premier, Zhou En-Lai, in 1954. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

Chabuchar Daily would obtain its first letterhead in 1967. A 1975 edition of the paper can be seen in the image below:

Caption: An edition of Chabuchar Daily in 1975. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

Zhao Jinxiu, a section editor at the paper, said the Chinese central government has been consistent in supporting ethnic language media in Xinjiang. More recently, the paper was given $3 million RMB to upgrade their printing machines. As the government continues to support the paper - whose role is to translate important news from sources such as Yili News Broadcasting, CCTV, Xinhua and others into the Xibo language - its improvement in delivery quality can be seen by looking at three papers, one from 2010, the next from 2016 and another from 2024.

We were then brought up to view Xibo calligraphy at a building beside the paper’s office. Calligraphy adorned the wall, in addition to books translated into the Xibo language. A calligrapher team came to meet us, one specializing in Xibo language and the other in Mandarin, the team being 62 and 80 years old, signifying how long the PRC has invested in protecting ethnic languages. They even painted a Xibo-Mandarin language sign on paper for The Canada Files.

Caption: Xibo-Mandarin sign on paper, painted by the calligrapher duo: Gao Qingsong and Wei Youcheng, which states “The Canada Files”. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

In Kuqa, we further saw the focus on uplifting historical culture, through visiting a village for the protection of integral culture, Jaiyi Village in the Xinhe prefecture. Entering the village, we saw horses walking on a road, meant to symbolize the Silk Road.

Caption: Horses walking on a road, which is meant to symbolize the Silk Road, towards a man playing a Sattar. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

Village residents here are famous for the production of musical equipment, stretching back for more than 300 years. The Sattar alone has been made using mulberry trees for more than 200 years. So it should be little surprise that it was selected as a key village for rural tourism and designed as a tourist village at the national level. There are five intangible cultural heritage protectors in the village alone, with four at the regional level and one at the national level.

Caption: Mural in Intangible Cultural Heritage center in Jaiyi Village. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

Caption: Dancers perform in Jaiyi Village. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

Caption: At a workshop in Xinhe County, multiple Sattar were in the process of being made. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

Tourism is the key plan going forward for the village, drawing more income for residents via tourist income along with the goal of increased sales of cultural musical equipment produced in the village.

On the final day of the tour, back in Urumqi, we went to a performance of the Mukam Art Troupe at the Xinjiang Art Theatre.

Caption: An image taken outside of the Xinjiang Art Theatre. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

Mukam is a shining example of the PRC’s determination to protect and uplift ethnic culture in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. In the 1940s, Mukam, a performance art that was orally inherited up to that point, was on the verge of extinction, with only one living performer remaining. At the urging of Safdin Aziz, then-Chinese Premier, Zhou En-Lai, invited the Musical Institute of China to the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, where Wan Tongshu helped locals collect and compose Mukam into music score, saving Mukam.

Caption: The “12 Mukam” painting, showing different kinds of instruments used in Mukam performance. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

The troupe, a legacy of the PRC’s protection of ethnic culture in Xinjiang, has even recently visited Turkey and the United Arab Emirates for performances. They put on a stellar show, including a new Hami Mukam performance, which was seen by this author and fellow journalists on the media tour, to cap off the visit to the theatre.

Caption: The Mukam Art Troupe based in Urumqi performs at the Xinjiang Art Theatre. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

Islam repressed? Or extremists repressed?

In Yili city, we visited the Shaanxi Grand Mosque for Hui Muslims. The mosque is funded by a balance of donations from local Muslims and the Xinjiang Autonomous Region and/or the PRC central government covering renovation costs.

Caption: Imam Ma Jirong, at the Shaanxi Grand Mosque, speaks to fellow reporters on the media tour. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

Imam Ma Jirong strongly believes that socialism and Islam are fully compatible, saying that both socialism and Islam prioritize the happiness of the people. He sees both economic and cultural development continuing on forward in Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

Mr. Abudurekefu Tumuniyazi - President of the Islamic Association of XUAR, Vice-President of China Islamic Association, President of Xinjiang Islamic Institute and Imam of the Xinjiang Islamic Association Mosque - is on the same page as Imam Jirong.

Caption: The Xinjiang Islamic Institute Mosque in Urumqi. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

When the media tour took us to the Islamic Institute, and then the mosque, Tumuniyazi emphasized that the PRC is a country where freedom of religious beliefs are respected, and individuals can neither be pressured to leave a religion or join a religion. Tumuniyazi himself saw this commitment in action when from 2013 to 2018, when he went to Beijing 10 times and regularly corresponded with the National People’s Congress, helping to shape legal changes to regulation of religion in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

De-radicalization regulations came decades ego, even before the attack in 2009 and continuing terrorism afterwards, which imposed a heavy cost on the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Tumuniyazi was clear, religion is not extremism and radicalization is totally against religion, with Islam being a religion of peace while radicalists believe in killing to achieve their aims. The de-radicalization regulations apply to all religions.

Caption: The Canada Files’ Editor-in-Chief, Aidan Jonah, asks Mr. Abudurekefu Tumuniyazi a question at the Xinjiang Islamic Institute Mosque. Tumuniyazi is the mosque’s Imam. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

And Islam, Mr. Tumuniyazi’s religion, is not the only to have a local religious association. The others are Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity and Catholicism. He emphasized that all religions in China are regulated by the law, but manage their own affairs, while maintaining the requirement to continuously adapt to socialism with Chinese characteristics. Islam and Chinese society have had a 1300-plus year history of co-existence, with Chinese society helping nourish the development of Islam, with Tumunyazi stating that the traditions of respecting rulers and respecting elders were passed down from Chinese culture.

Formal study of Islam does occur in Xinjiang, a fascinating element for a region where the PRC is supposedly cracking down unfairly on Islam. At the Xinjiang Islamic Institute, students can study to obtain a three-year bachelor degree to become an Imam, with the opportunity to attend Scripture School for further studies.

The Scrum News reported this April that “Currently, there are 200 students enrolled on campus, with plans to admit an additional 150 new students. The institution offers a total of 8 classes.”

Tumunyazi said, to The Canada Files, that the Islamic institute is even applying to their regional government, the XUAR, to offer free education, so the study of Islam can be even more accessible in Xinjiang.

Caption: Mr. Abudurekefu Tumuniyazi, President of the Xinjiang Islamic Institute, speaks in a classroom at the institute. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

Caption: Kurbanjiang Yusuf, a lecturer at the Xinjiang Islamic Institute, in front of his class. Credit: Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files

While claims of repression of Islam in the XUAR are rife, it’s clear that only religious extremism has been repressed. The study of Islam is protected and promoted, while the rights of religious individuals to practice their religion are protected.

Xinjiang – terrorism of the past, development of the future

The media tour which The Canada Files participated in was far more vast than one article could explore. In at least one future article, this author will explore how the PRC’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is striving to ensure development for all citizens.

It is clear that the autonomous region is safe and stable. There was a relaxed nature in the air, whether it be on the streets of Urumqi, Yili or Kuqa, when we were with the media tour, and when journalists went out together to get street food at night. That safety and stability is a tremendous victory for the PRC and XUAR leadership, one which ordinary citizens benefit from every single day.

Aidan Jonah is the Editor-in-Chief of The Canada Files, a socialist, anti-imperialist news outlet founded in 2019. Jonah wrote a report for the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council, held in September 2021.

Editor’s note: The Canada Files is the country's only news outlet focused on Canadian foreign policy. We've provided critical investigations & hard-hitting analysis on Canadian foreign policy since 2019, and need your support.

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