“I believe that you should not talk about Xinjiang if you’ve never been, because then you have the wrong idea and you communicate wrong how Xinjiang is,” Alvaro Lago Sanchez, senior writer of People’s Daily Online, said to GDToday & Newsgd.com at an international seminar on counter-terrorism, de-radicalization, and human rights protection.

Two Uyghur scholars also told the reporter of the real life of Xinjiang people as well as the policies the government has enacted to protect their rights, debunking the lies cooked up by some western countries on reeducation and deprivation of human rights.

“Compulsory education policy guarantees that children of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang can complete primary to secondary education,” said Zuliyati Simayi, Vice President of Xinjiang University. “There is also a system to promote the learning of both Mandarin and ethnic languages in schools.”

Moreover, Mailihaba Aolan, Dean of School of Foreign Languages and Literature at Xinjiang University, found that no acquaintances of hers have ever been reeducated because of having been abroad, contrary to that stated in the US Country Reports on Terrorism.

According to the scholars, Xinjiang has not seen any terror attacks for 4 years. “I believe that this is the greatest guarantee of human rights,” said Mailihaba.

In terms of counter-terrorism, Zhang Yonghe, Executive Dean of Research Institute of Human Rights at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, noted that double standards will only make counter-terrorism as counterproductive as the US has “achieved” from its 20-year War on Terror.

All of the experts call on countries to join forces in the fight against terrorism. “This is essential for humanity. This is the cause all people should fight for,” said Zhang.

Reporters | Lydia Liu, Keane

Cameraman | Eastbrook

Video editor | Keane

Editors | Wing, Jerry