Editor's Note:

Despite some Western political forces continuing to run smear campaigns against Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, they won't deter the people in the region from embracing peace and prosperity, nor will they halt Xinjiang society's steady development. Seeing is believing, and facts and truth will eventually debunk all lies. In the "Xinjiang Upclose" series, the Global Times will publish conversations with and articles from scholars and observers from around the world who have visited the region, sharing their first-hand experience of traveling to Xinjiang and observing the daily lives of its people. Through their insights and experiences, we aim to present an authentic perspective on Xinjiang. This is the first piece of the series.

Although I've never lived in Xinjiang, I have visited the region quite a few times. The first time was in 1982. I remember Urumqi, the capital of the Autonomous Region, and Turpan then as very backward places, and travel was extremely difficult, even over short distances. At that time, I was not able to visit any cities other than Urumqi and Turpan. Kashi and Hotan to the southwest, and the Yili region to the northwest were out of bounds for me.

Since 1982, I have returned quite a few times to Xinjiang, going both to Yili and Kashi as well as many other places. More recently, I visited in 2018, and also in 2024 for a major conference.

My most powerful impression over the years is how strongly the economy has grown. It's true that China's modernization was in its early stages in 1982, but all I can say is that the contrast between then and my most recent visit is so stark it is simply astounding. It's worth noting that from 1952 to 2020, Xinjiang's per capita GDP increased from 166 yuan ($22.79) to 53,593 yuan ($7,358). In other words, the ordinary person changed from being impoverished to living a prosperous life.

Moreover, the health level of the people has risen enormously. This can be seen in life expectancy at birth. Average life expectancy in Xinjiang was less than 30 years in 1949 but 74.7 years in 2019. Though lower than the national figure of 78.6 years in 2024, this is still very impressive.

Then there is the extremely impressive rise in education levels in Xinjiang. Illiteracy was once very widespread, now almost all children of the relevant age attend primary school, and the completion rate of nine-year compulsory education is close to 100 percent. College education has expanded enormously, including for ethnic minorities students.

Taking Kashi as an example, one of its main features is its very large Uygur population. The first time I visited the Xinjiang city, in 1994, it was very attractive and to me very interesting, because of my interest in Uygur culture. But it was still poor and modernity in terms of infrastructure and construction had not progressed very far. Compared to my most recent visits in 2018 and 2024, there are now many tall, modern buildings, very good infrastructure and a clean and advanced hygiene system.

One of the issues that arouses a great deal of controversy is ethnic culture, especially Uygur culture. In the West the mainstream media and some others allege that Uygur and other ethnic minority culture is being deliberately erased. My experience and research have left me with an entirely different view.

Culture can be understood under many different headings. They include language, arts, religion, family life, architecture, cuisine and dress. Not all traditional culture should be preserved, for example how women were treated in the old society. But the policy is to preserve ethnic cultures, and, in my opinion, this has been well implemented.

Uygur culture is famous for its performing arts, especially its song-and-dance form called Muqam. I was able to buy in Kashi DVDs all the Twelve Muqam and have enjoyed watching them many times. Although the Twelve Muqam are rarely performed all together, parts of them are regularly put on, and they are very much still part of the Uygur people's artistic diet. What has impressed me particularly was that in 2018, I went to a music and dance school in Shache county, which is southeast of Kashi, Xinjiang, where young people are trained in playing the musical instruments of the Muqam as well as the dances and singing that make up this very beautiful form of art.

This shows there is absolutely no erasure of traditional arts, but the opposite. Training is extremely important in the arts. If a government wants to keep them alive, it will invest money and effort into training. And that's what the present government is doing in Xinjiang.

Another area of great interest is language. Many allege that there is pressure to prevent Uygurs and other ethnic minorities using their own language, and that this constitutes cultural suppression. My impression is that ethnic minorities still use their own language in their own contexts. Official signs are in both Uygur and Chinese. There is still a literature written in ethnic languages. Some schools use ethnic languages for instruction in some courses.

What is true is that there is a major attempt to teach everybody Modern Standard Chinese - Putonghua. This focuses on younger people, all of whom learn Chinese at school. Most of the instruction is in Putonghua, and getting more so. The public sphere, including government, law and education, increasingly uses Putonghua.

My own point of view is that I have no problem with people learning Putonghua. For national unity, it is important that people speak and use the national language. What would be a problem would be suppressing Uygur, the way the English once tried to suppress Welsh. I really do not see the signs of that happening in Xinjiang or anywhere else in China.

And I add that, while in Xinjiang over the years, I have visited many museums, some several times. I am very impressed with the energy and money the government spends on preserving and presenting knowledge of the past and local culture. During my most recent visit to the historical museum in Urumqi, I was very impressed with the way the education system is encouraging young people to appreciate ethnic and local culture.

On culture, an important overall point is the role of modernization. It doesn't matter where you are, modernity impacts people, especially young people. They dress differently, their tastes in the arts tend to be different, modern forms such as cinema, television and social media change the way people see the world.

The US has been accusing China of genocide in Xinjiang. The accusation is palpably false and has gained no support at all among Muslim-majority countries. I already demonstrated above that there was no attempt to erase ethnic culture, let alone ethnic groups as a whole. There is no evidence of any Uygur being deliberately killed because of their ethnicity. The fact that the latest national population census in 2020 included all the 55 ethnic minorities shows a formal recognition of those ethnic groups, and no attempt to erase any of them. The whole idea of genocide is just outrageous.

The reality of Xinjiang and its ethnic groups is not genocide but increasing prosperity and modernity. Any problems in ethnic relations are dwarfed by the palpable progress visible to any unbiased observer who visits Xinjiang!

This article first appeared in the Global Times: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202502/1327894.shtml