China's State Council Information Office Sunday issued a white paper detailing the demographic development in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, slamming groundless fabrications against Xinjiang by various anti-China forces.
The white paper, titled "Xinjiang Population Dynamics and Data," said over the past 70 years, Xinjiang has seen rapid and steady population growth, improving population quality, higher life expectancy, and faster urbanization and modernization.
HIGH POPULATION GROWTH
Xinjiang's population growth from 2000 to 2020 was 1.15 percentage points higher than the national compound annual growth rate (CAGR) average, said the white paper.
Preliminary data from the seventh national census conducted in 2020 showed that the population of Xinjiang reached 25.85 million, increasing by 4.04 million from 2010 with a CAGR of 1.71 percent.
The Uygur population in Xinjiang has maintained a relatively high growth rate, growing at a CAGR of 1.67 percent from over 8.34 million in 2000 to over 11.62 million in 2020. The growth rate was much higher than that of the country's total ethnic minority population, which stood at 0.83 percent, said the document.
The census figures are powerful evidences refuting the accusations of "genocide" in Xinjiang fabricated by anti-China forces to deceive the international community, mislead international public opinion, and impede China's development and progress.
The white paper slammed accusations of "suppression of birth rates" and "demographic genocide" in Xinjiang as utterly groundless, saying the northwestern region implements its family planning policy in accordance with the law, and forced birth control and pregnancy tests are strictly prohibited.
It is up to individuals to decide whether or not to use contraceptives and how to use them. No organization or individual may interfere with this freedom, said the document.
Xinjiang's population, in particular that of ethnic minority groups, will continue to maintain steady growth in the near term. Its ethnic minority groups have considerable potential to grow as they have a relatively young population and a large number of women of childbearing age, according to the white paper.
Xinjiang's demographic development marks the success of a unified multiethnic country in ensuring healthy population growth of its ethnic minorities, it said.
China will continue to promote unity, harmony and cultural progress and strive for a prosperous and eco-friendly Xinjiang under socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, the document said.
SLAMMING FALSE CLAIMS
Various anti-China forces smear Xinjiang, demonize China, and vilify the country's governance of the region, accusing the nation of "forced labor," "mandatory sterilizations," "parent-child separation," "cultural genocide," and "religious persecution" in recent years, according to the white paper.
The accusations of "genocide" conjured up by anti-China forces in some countries such as the United States lay bare their hideous double standards, hypocrisy, and hegemonic mindset, the white paper stated.
The Chinese government protects the rights of the Uygurs and all other ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang in accordance with the law. "This fact stands in sharp contrast to the fabrications by anti-China forces," said the document.
The economic, social and family status of women of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang has continued to improve, allowing them to have more opportunities to access secondary and higher education, and engage actively in economic and social life, it said.
Through the "forced labor" lie, anti-China forces malign the country's actions against terrorism and extremism, suppress the development of Xinjiang industries such as cotton, tomatoes, and photovoltaic products, and undermine China's participation in global industrial chain cooperation, the white paper said.
Workers of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, including graduates from the vocational education and training centers, always choose jobs of their own volition, and there is no coercion of any kind, it said.
The white paper slammed the false claim made by anti-China forces that boarding schools in Xinjiang were built for separating Uygur parents from their children. Instead, the boarding schools can help consolidate universal access to compulsory education and promote balanced education, it said.
Due to Xinjiang's vast land area of 1,664,900 square km, villages and towns are far apart and residents in some farming and pastoral areas are sparsely distributed, making the daily commute between home and school very difficult for some students.
Establishing boarding schools is a standard practice in China's compulsory education sector, and it is up to students' families to decide whether to let their wards board or not, stated the white paper.
The document also refuted the claim that Xinjiang's efforts to promote standard Chinese represent a campaign of "cultural genocide." The right of Xinjiang's ethnic minorities to learn and use their own languages are effectively protected and their cultures well preserved, it added.
The official document also rejected the accusations of "religious persecution" as completely baseless, saying that Xinjiang protects freedom of religious belief and ensures orderly practice of religion.
Believers are free to engage in lawful religious activities, including worship, fasting, and observance of religious festivals, in accordance with religious doctrines, canons and traditions at religious venues or in their homes, it said.
