SCIO briefing on Xinjiang's development
Speakers:
Shohrat Zakir, deputy secretary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and chairman of the Xinjiang regional government;
Alken Tuniaz, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee and vice chairman of the Xinjiang regional government;
Zhang Chunlin, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee and executive vice chairman of the Xinjiang regional government.
Chairperson:
Hu Kaihong, spokesperson of the State Council Information Office
Date:
July 30, 2019
Hu Kaihong:
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to attend this press conference. This is one of a series being held on the development of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Today, we are delighted to welcome officials from Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to speak on the theme of "Building a beautiful Xinjiang, realizing the Chinese Dream." Present with us are: Mr. Shohrat Zakir, deputy secretary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and chairman of the Xinjiang regional government; Mr. Alken Tuniaz, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee and vice chairman of the Xinjiang regional government; and Mr. Zhang Chunlin, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee and executive vice chairman of the Xinjiang regional government. They will make a brief introduction of current developments in Xinjiang, and then answer some of your questions.
Now, I give the floor to Mr. Shohrat Zakir.
Shohrat Zakir:
Good morning, everyone. I am glad to have the opportunity to meet you here. On behalf of the CPC Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee, the regional government, and the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for your long-term attention and support to Xinjiang. I welcome you all to this press conference.
Xinjiang is situated in the northwestern part of China in the hinterland of the Eurasian continent. It covers a total area of 1.66 million square kilometers, and abuts eight countries. Of all the provincial-level administrative regions in China, Xinjiang possesses the largest area, the highest number of bordering countries, and the longest national land border in China.
Xinjiang, an amazing and beautiful land, has been an inalienable part of China's territory since ancient times. Covering a large area abundant with various resources, the region has a long history with a profound culture. Inhabited by many ethnic groups and displaying the coexistence of multiple cultures and religions, it serves as an important corridor for East-West cultural exchanges. Since ancient times, the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have lived in harmony, sharing weal and woe. They have jointly developed, built and safeguarded the territory of the motherland, creating an epic of patriotism.
The peaceful liberation of Xinjiang on Sept. 25, 1949, ushered in a new historic era. On Oct. 1, 1949, all ethnic groups of Xinjiang, together with all other Chinese people, witnessed the founding of the People's Republic of China. On Oct. 1, 1955, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region was established, opening a new chapter for Xinjiang development. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and with the support of the whole nation, Xinjiang has forged ahead and worked toward development, progress and prosperity, together with the motherland, delivering remarkable results over the past seven decades.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to work in relation to Xinjiang and all its ethnic groups. Unceasing efforts have been undertaken in this regard. General Secretary Xi Jinping carried out inspection tours to Xinjiang, presided over meetings to study work in relation to Xinjiang, and delivered important speeches and relevant instructions. In May 2014, the Second Central Meeting on the Work of Xinjiang set forth the overall goal of achieving lasting social and political stability in Xinjiang, enriching the Party's strategies for governing Xinjiang in the new era. In 2015, General Secretary Xi Jinping commemorated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, expressing his wish to see the building of a beautiful Xinjiang and realizing the Chinese dream. This is also the common aspiration of the whole nation, including everyone in Xinjiang. During the two sessions in 2017, General Secretary Xi Jinping participated in a discussion with the deputies of Xinjiang, sharing his vision for the work being undertaken in Xinjiang, which provided the principles, and became a great encouragement to the next step in our work. We have fully implemented the Party's guiding principles and strategies for governing Xinjiang in the new era. Focusing on the overall goal of achieving social and political stability, we have united the people of all ethnic groups, overcome difficulties, and delivered solid progress, resulting in great changes on both sides of the Tianshan Mountains.
Xinjiang's economic development has realized a historic leap. Its GDP increased from 791 million yuan in 1952 to 1.2 trillion yuan in 2018. Adjusted for inflation, this represents a 200-fold increase, with an average annual gain of 8.3%. Xinjiang's per-capita GDP rose to 49,000 yuan in 2018, from 166 yuan in 1952, and that's approximately a 37.7-fold increase in real terms, averaging 5.7% annual growth.
After 70 years of development, Xinjiang's overall agricultural production capacity and its possession of modernized equipment have notably improved. It has China's biggest production center of cotton, and it also leads the nation in agricultural water-saving irrigation and mechanized farming. The region's industry started from scratch and has formed a fully-fledged modern industrial system. Some production technologies in regard to new energy, new materials and equipment manufacturing have taken the lead domestically and even in the world. More and more modernized cities have emerged as shining pearls in the Gobi desert. Stretching from north to south and connecting the hinterland with the world, Xinjiang's modern comprehensive transportation system has been basically completed. All prefectures and cities are connected by highways. Road network connectivity among administrative villages has reached 99.74%. The length of in-service railways totals 5,959 kilometers. Alongside the rest of China, Xinjiang has also entered the era of high-speed railways, which now links Urumqi to the rest of the country. We have also entered the era of subway, as the subway in Urumqi has already begun operating. There are 21 civilian airports in Xinjiang, and airlines have become the top choice for people to visit us and travel within the region.
In recent years, we have made good use of Xinjiang's geographical advantages, and seized the major opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative. We are committed to promoting openness both at home and abroad, and turning Xinjiang into a key region on the Silk Road Economic Belt, as well as a major window in China's opening to the West. In 2018, Xinjiang's total imports and exports were $20 billion. This is 1,481 times greater than it was in 1950. We have made good use of our unique tourism resources, implementing the strategy of developing Xinjiang through tourism. The potential created by stability is fully utilized as well. Tourism has seen a significant upsurge in recent years. Xinjiang received more than 150 million domestic and foreign tourists in 2018, a year-on-year growth of 40.1%, and 75.89 million tourists visited in the first half of this year, up 46% year-on-year. We expect to receive more than 200 million visitors this year. And we hope to present the charm, prosperity, and stability of Xinjiang to the world.
Second, the living standard of people of all ethnic groups has achieved a historic improvement.
Per-capita income of urban residents jumped from 319 yuan in 1978 to 32,764 yuan in 2018, an average annual growth of 12.3%; that of rural residents went up from 119 yuan in 1978 to 11,975 yuan in 2018, an average annual growth of 12.2%. Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has greatly improved the clothing, food, accommodation, and transportation conditions of the people of all ethnic groups, ensuring that the problems of hunger, cold, water and power supply shortages, and inaccessibility to the outside world that previously haunted this land a thing of the past.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, with a stress on people-centered and livelihood-centered development, Xinjiang has, for many years, spent more than 70% of its public budget expenditures on improving public livelihoods and continuously boosting welfare programs focusing on employment, education, medical services, social security and housing etc. Many pressing livelihood issues bearing on the people's immediate interests have been solved. Xinjiang has provided "zero-employment" families with jobs in a timely manner, implemented the policy of free annual physical examination, achieved three-year free pre-school education in rural areas, carried out rural housing projects and built permanent housing for nomadic herdsmen, established a healthcare insurance system to treat critical illnesses, and provided basic living allowances to eligible rural and urban residents. People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have enjoyed a stronger sense of gain, of happiness and of security.
To complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, we are focusing on poverty-stricken areas in the four prefectures of southern Xinjiang and have made clear gains in eradicating poverty. From 2014 to 2018, during a new round of the poverty alleviation campaign, 2.31 million people shook off the shackles of poverty, and the impoverishment rate in rural Xinjiang dropped from 19.4% to 6.1%. By 2020, like the rest of China, Xinjiang will lift its impoverished population totally out of poverty by current set standards. We will leave no one behind. Together with the whole nation, Xinjiang will make great efforts to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects within the set timeframe.
Third, our social undertakings have achieved historic breakthroughs.
In the early years after liberation, the net enrolment ratio of school-age children was under 20%, the illiteracy rate was as high as 90%, and the average life expectancy was merely 30 years. Over the past 70 years, we popularized nine-year compulsory education and provided free three-year pre-school education and 12-year basic education in southern Xinjiang. In 2018, the enrolment ratio of kindergartens was 95.95%, and the enrolment ratio of school-age children in primary schools was 99.91%. The central government has also organized Xinjiang Senior High School Class in some of the most developed cities in other provinces to offer better and free education for students from Xinjiang's farming and pastural zones, a scheme that has benefited 110,000 students so far. Xinjiang has also set up a relatively complete county-township-village three-tier disease prevention and health system. The average life expectancy has now risen to 72.35 years.
We highly value the protection and development of traditional ethnic cultures. The Xinjiang Uygur Muqam and Kirgiz epic "Manas" were inscribed on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Requiring Urgent Protection.
Xinjiang has built a four-tier public cultural service system from the autonomous region down to prefectures, counties and townships. Each county has a cultural center, each township has a cultural station and each village has a cultural hub, enriching people's daily life.
You probably have noticed the exhibition stands set up outside this room. Those Uygur people perform beautiful songs and dances. And there are also local snacks and tourism products from our start-ups in rural areas. Through this, you can enjoy our traditional ethnic culture. All of these display the improved well-being of our people in Xinjiang.
Fourth, we have achieved historical progress in advancing solidarity among all ethnic groups.
We have fully implemented the Party's ethnic and religious policies and the system of regional ethnic autonomy. Xinjiang has cultivated a number of ethnic officials. The right to use ethnic languages and characters of various ethnic groups is fully secured. The law protects and respects the right of every person to freedom of religious belief and participation in religious activities. And the ethnic customs of all shall be respected. All of these aspects have helped to develop and consolidate the new socialist ethnic relationship featuring equality, unity, mutual aid and harmony. In Xinjiang, unremitting efforts have also been made in holding activities promoting ethnic unity and progress. Xinjiang has promulgated the Regulations of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on the Work of Ethnic Unity and Progress. The exchanges and cooperation between different ethnic groups have been promoted in different areas and manners. People of various ethnic groups are as united as pomegranate seeds.
Xinjiang is enjoying social stability, sustained economic development, a harmonious coexistence of all religions, a better standard of living and solidarity among all ethnic groups. The region is experiencing its most auspicious period of development and prosperity.
The prosperity and progress of Xinjiang cannot be separated from the great support of the central government and the selfless help of all Chinese. From the establishment of the PRC, the total financial subsidies of the central government to Xinjiang have reached 2.35 trillion yuan, including 1.61 trillion yuan alone from 2012 to 2018. In 2018, the financial subsidy of the central government to Xinjiang reached 302.2 billion yuan, accounting for 60.3% of Xinjiang's budgetary expenditures. Since 2010, a total of 19 provinces and various cities in eastern and central China have joined the pairing scheme providing aid to different parts of Xinjiang, with a combined fund of 103.5 billion yuan. And they have also ushered in 1.8 trillion yuan for cooperation projects. Since 1979, the country has sent 15,975 officials to support Xinjiang's development. They work together with all ethnic groups to build a better Xinjiang, thus enjoying the full warmth of the big family of our motherland.
The historic changes that have taken place in Xinjiang over the past 70 years eloquently prove that only through the leadership of the CPC, in the big family of the motherland, the insistence on pursuing socialism with Chinese characteristics, the determined focus on adhering to and improving the system of regional ethnic autonomy, and the joint efforts made to achieve common prosperity and development, has it been possible all ethnic groups in Xinjiang to have a prosperous and progressive present and be able to look forward to a more beautiful future.
The Chinese nation is a family where we are making concerted efforts to achieve our Chinese Dream. At such a historic point in time, we will continue to bear in mind our original aspiration and mission, carry out the Party's Xinjiang governance strategy under the guidance of the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, focus on the overall objective of social stabilization and lasting stability and durable peace, insist on rule of law, ethnic unity and long-term construction in the region, strive to build a united, harmonious, prosperous, civilized, and progressive Xinjiang based on socialism with Chinese characteristics and strive to write a good Xinjiang chapter in the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.
Now, my colleagues and I will answer your questions. Thank you.
Hu Kaihong:
Mr. Zakir, thank you for your introduction. Now, let's open the floor to questions.
CCTV:
Just now, the regional chairman said that, by comprehensively implementing regional ethnic autonomy and the Party's ethnic and religious policies, Xinjiang has seen historical progress in ethnic unity. So, how has Xinjiang promoted its ethnic unity? What are the concrete measures and results? Thank you.
Shohrat Zakir:
I will give you a brief introduction to Xinjiang's ethnic policies and ethnic unity situation.
Xinjiang has been a multi-ethnic place since ancient times. Of 25 million people living there now, among the many ethnic groups present, 13 have resided in Xinjiang for generations. In the 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially over the 40-plus years since China's reform and opening-up, Xinjiang has seen people from most of China's 56 ethnic groups establishing a home here. This shows the multi-ethnic nature of Xinjiang. By implementing regional ethnic autonomy in accordance with the law, and resolutely implementing the Party's ethnic policies, Xinjiang has made historic progress in ethnic unity. How do we promote ethnic unity? What measures are implemented to fulfill the Party's policies and regional ethnic autonomy, which is enshrined in the Constitution and other laws? We pay special attention to the following points.
First, we see ethnic unity as the lifeline for people of all ethnic groups. Ethnic unity is the foremost prerequisite [for Xinjiang development]. General Secretary Xi Jinping has told us that we should protect ethnic unity the same way we protect our own eyes. To ensure ethnic equality, the Party has adopted a series of lines, policies, laws and regulations. Besides, Xinjiang has local laws and regulations to guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of each ethnic group. We have worked to ensure that everyone is equal and all ethnic groups get along with each other on equal terms within this big family of the People's Republic of China.
Second, we uphold regional ethnic autonomy. It is a basic component of China's political system. We involve every ethnic group in its implementation. By 2018, among the officials working in Xinjiang's public institutions and businesses, 428,000, or 50.3%, are from minority ethnic groups. In addition, we value the contribution of female officials. Xinjiang now has 233,000 female officials from minority ethnic groups, representing 51.8% of the feminine component.
Third, we fully respect and protect the rights of all ethnic groups to use their own spoken and written languages and develop their own culture according to the law, while encouraging and promoting the use of China's standard spoken and written language. Xinjiang has newspapers, magazines and other media available in multiple ethnic languages to meet the needs of different groups. Besides, we respect the folk customs of minority ethnic groups, for example their wedding and funeral rites. We do our utmost to see that every ethnic group can maintain its customs and traditions, while accommodating and respecting those of other groups.
We have kept carrying out education on ethnic unity. With the gradual gain in China's national strength in recent years, it has put poverty relief on the agenda as an important task. As required by the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, we have sent over one million officials to different parts of Xinjiang to bond with people of minority ethnic groups, especially those living in poor rural areas. In doing so, we hope to promote exchanges, interactions and friendships among different ethnic groups. What really happens in Xinjiang is that different ethnic groups are closely united like the seeds of a pomegranate that stick together. Thanks for your question.
China Arab TV:
What does the Xinjiang regional government think of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)? What cooperation projects are there between Xinjiang and Arab countries under the BRI framework?
Zhang Chunlin:
That's a good question. In order to provide more relevant information, I would like to elaborate on Xinjiang's practices and the progress so far made in building itself as the core region of the Silk Road Economic Belt. The BRI proposed by President Xi Jinping has received worldwide acclaim. In 2014, Xinjiang was designated as the core region of the Silk Road Economic Belt. The regional Party committee and government seized the historical opportunity, took proactive measures and stepped up their efforts to promote the development of the core region. Initial success has been achieved in this regard. The major elements are as follows:
First, we designed development plans to enhance policy coordination. The regional Party committee and government formulated the Guidelines on Construction of Xinjiang as the Core Region of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Action Plan to Promote Construction of Xinjiang as the Core Region of the Silk Road Economic Belt (2014-2020).
Second, we have persisted in building multiple transportation projects to promote infrastructure connectivity. In terms of road construction, we have opened 111 routes connecting with five surrounding countries. As a result, road transportation from China to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan has been normalized. In terms of railways, Urumqi has been connected to the hinterland's high-speed rail network. The Hami-Ejina and Karamay-Tacheng railways have both begun operation.
At the same time, we are building three new railways – the Korla-Golmud, Altay-Fuyun-Zhundong and Hotan-Ruoqiang lines. These three railways will add 2,013 kilometers to the growing regional network. In the past five years, a total of 925 kilometers of lines have been built, and now a further 2,013 kilometers are under construction. By 2022, the length of railways in Xinjiang will exceed 8,000 kilometers.
In terms of aviation, we have either newly built or expanded nine airports. The total number of civil aviation facilities in Xinjiang has reached 21, and three new airports will start construction this year, with another five to follow next year. By 2022, the total number of airports will reach 30. We have not only opened the air route from Urumqi to the surrounding cities, but also routes from Urumqi to the Iranian capital of Tehran, and from Urumqi to Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. In June this year, the route from Urumqi to the Austrian capital Vienna was also opened. This year, we launched the reconstruction and extension project for Urumqi Airport. This project will add two new runways and expand the terminal building by 700,000 square meters. By then, the annual passenger throughput of Urumqi Airport will increase from the current 20 million to 44 million, making it an international hub airport in western China and Central Asia.
In terms of energy, we have built the Hami-Zhengzhou ±800 kV UHVDC transmission project, and the Zhundong-East China ±1,100 kV UHVDC transformer project.
In terms of communication, 17 cross-border optical cables have been put into service in Xinjiang, connecting China with neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Third, we continued to pursue mutual benefits and promote trade. Since 2014, we have established 2,451 railway services to link western neighboring countries with an average annual growth of 100%. In 2008, a total of 1,002 railway services were launched in Xinjiang to connect 26 cities of 19 countries in Central Asia and Europe. We have given equal emphasis to "bringing in" and "going global," so as to strengthen international capacity cooperation. For example, the renovation project of a thermal power plant in Kyrgyzstan, undertaken by the Chinese company TBEA, has improved the power supply there; Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical Co., Ltd. opened its cotton mill in Tajikistan, providing many jobs for local people; Xinjiang Hualing Trade and Industry (Group) Co. Ltd., a private conglomerate, built a shopping mall and industrial park in Georgia and became the largest foreign enterprise there.
Fourth, we boosted financial cooperation and innovation. In 2016, Pakistan's Habib Bank set up a branch in Urumqi. Now, Xinjiang has the largest number of financial institutions among the five northwestern provinces. We have also launched the cross-border RMB business in 98 countries and regions, providing service to more than 2,700 companies so far.
Fifth, we have expanded people-to-people exchanges on a large scale. In science and technology, the Xinjiang regional government, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences launched a pilot zone for innovation-driven development along the Silk Road Economic Belt. As for education, 12,400 foreign students have studied in Xinjiang, and 10 Confucius Institutes have been established in six neighboring countries. In medical treatment and public health, more than 20,000 foreign patients have received medical help here. A total of 29 hospitals in Xinjiang have launched cross-border telemedicine service platforms with 24 large-scale hospitals from three neighboring countries.
Next, we will follow three general ideas: first, to build the Urumqi International Land Port as a landmark project in the core region of the Silk Road Economic Belt; second, to promote construction of the Kashgar and Horgos economic development zones. We will further release stable dividends, give full play to the advantages of the 19 provinces and cities helping Xinjiang in its development, increase investment, and vigorously develop modern industries such as textiles and apparel, electronic product processing, trade and logistics; third, to advance the development of the tertiary industry. We will promote the development of an export-oriented economy to realize transformation and upgrading, and finally achieve overall economic development.
Taking advantages of a dozen ports in Xinjiang, we have been speeding up the development of border zones in order to improve the level of opening up. At present, we have already established sound cooperation with Central Asian countries and will strengthen friendly cooperation with Western Asian and African countries. Currently, TBEA is working on cooperation plans to better serve the power construction of some African countries such as Angola. Thank you.
China Radio International (CRI):
As we all know, Xinjiang has been a region inhabited by multiple ethnic groups since ancient times. May I ask how Xinjiang has protected and inherited the fine traditional culture of all ethnic groups? Thank you.
Shohrat Zakir:
This question will be answered by Mr. Alken Tuniaz.
Alken Tuniaz:
Thank you for your question. The culture of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang has always been deeply rooted in time-honored Chinese civilization, and is an inalienable part of Chinese culture. Xinjiang has always attached great importance to the protection and inheritance of the fine cultural traditions of all ethnic groups. Our main work and achievements are as follows.
First, cultural heritage has been effectively protected and inherited. In 2008, we published the Regulations of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Then in 2010, we promulgated the Regulations of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on the Preservation of the Art of Uygur Muqam. The regulations have scientifically and systematically provided an institutional guarantee for the protection and inheritance of the traditional culture and art of all ethnic groups. By 2018, Xinjiang was identified as being home to one world-class cultural heritage site spread over six places, and five State-level historical and cultural cities, namely Kashgar, Turpan, Yining, Kuqa and Tekes. There are 113 cultural relics protection units at State level, 642 at autonomous region level, and more than 450,000 movable cultural relics collected by 182 State-owned units. At the same time, the Xinjiang Uygur Muqam, Kirgiz epic "Manas," and Uygur Meshrep were respectively included in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Requiring Urgent Protection. All ethnic groups in Xinjiang have their representative intangible cultural heritage included in either State or autonomous region-administered lists.
Second, literature and arts are prospering. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Xinjiang's folk and classical literature has been collected, collated, translated, published and studied. Writers, poets, translators, performing artists, and researchers coming from diversified ethnic minority origins have rapidly matured, forming a multi-ethnic literary, performing and researching contingent. Many of their works have won national and autonomous regional prizes.
Third, traditional ethnic minority sports have been revived and protected. By 2018, the autonomous region had identified and revived 629 traditional ethnic minority sports. The Uygur traditional tightrope-walking known as Darwaz enjoys great repute around the world, being recognized in seven categories as Guinness world record achievements. We have successfully held eight National Traditional Ethnic Minority Sports Meets.
Finally, Xinjiang leads the country in a number of core and key technologies, such as information processing in ethnic minority languages. To help ethnic minorities share the achievements in the era of internet and IT applications, the Chinese government has formulated national standards for coded character sets, keyboards and type matrix of ethnic languages, including Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, Kazakh and Kirgiz. A variety of ethnic language typesetting systems and intelligent voice translation systems have been developed to support the orderly development of ethnic language websites and new media. All these efforts aim to make ethnic languages increasingly information-oriented and extensively used in the society.
Phoenix TV:
Reports have alleged some vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang have detained many Uygurs. Could you verify this? How many have been held at those centers so far? Could you give us a number?
Alken Tuniaz:
Thank you for your question. I can confirm to you that the reports about detaining Uygurs at the vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang are totally false allegations made by some countries and media organizations out of their ulterior motives.
Spokespersons for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Council Information Office have made detailed introductions about those centers. Establishing vocational education and training centers are the implementation of the UN Global Counter-terrorism Strategy. The effort is based on the reality in Xinjiang, while drawing on the experience of other countries. The government prioritizes safeguarding the fundamental interests of all ethnic groups and aims to explore ways to address deep-seated problems in regard to counterterrorism and de-radicalization. We strive to combat terrorism while protecting human rights, maintain stability while improving standards of living, and balance compassion and severity while taking measures for rehabilitation. Moreover, our counterterrorism efforts do not target any specific region, ethnic group or religion. Achievements have been made in this process. The majority of the trainees have found jobs. Some found employment at local companies and some started their own businesses through preferential policies provided by the local government, which have contributed to poverty relief in the region.
Since last year, the centers have received dozens of visiting delegations with a total of nearly 1,000 members, including media, diplomats, experts, scholars, and religious representatives. After witnessing the operations there, they all recognize and support the successful practices they have seen and think that the practices are worth learning. By July 26, representatives from a total of 50 countries had jointly sent a letter to the UN Human Rights Council to voice their support for the practices. The letter provided a detailed introduction about the centers’ achievements. The number of the trainees is constantly fluctuating. Most of them have now completed their trainings and found employment. I also welcome you to visit the centers in Xinjiang. Thank you.
Reuters:
I have two questions. First, my question goes to Mr. Shohrat Zakir. Could you give us an approximate number about the trainees at those centers? Second, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has described China's policies about these centers as being the "human rights "stain of the century'." What is your comment on this?
Shohrat Zakir:
Your question is similar to the previous one from the Hong Kong journalist. The centers are established and operated in accordance with the law and regulations. In recent years, serious violent terrorist crimes frequently occurred in Xinjiang, especially those committed under the guise of religion. Terrorism, extremism and separatism, the so-called "three evil forces," have created a series of violent terrorist incidents in the region.
Geographically, Xinjiang is located at the center of Asia abutting eight countries, some of which have been suffering with violent terrorist crimes themselves. Under certain foreign separatist influences, some people try to achieve their political goals through organizing violent terrorist crimes. By learning from the effective counterterrorism practices, we want to rehabilitate those who have been influenced by religious extremism or who have been forced to join terrorist groups. For those who have violated the criminal law, we will hold them accountable. For those who have been influenced by evil forces, we will strive to educate and rehabilitate them so that they can understand and obey the laws and regulations.
For those who are jobless and who have not received proper education, we established vocational education and training centers. The centers are by no means "concentration camps." They are established and operated publicly in accordance with the law. The number of trainees there fluctuates. After proper education, people involved may gradually become aware of extremism under the guise of religion and feel sorry for their former misdeeds.
Some people may say, "I am not well qualified to find a job, and there are no available positions". For such people, we offer education and training courses in three fields to achieve a final goal of employment.
First, they must study the laws. As the citizen of a country, one must abide by the law. This is the most important attribute of human society and advanced civilization. If individual behavior is not restrained by the law, you can imagine what our society would turn into. Therefore, these people must learn their basic rights, responsibilities and obligations.
Second, the Uygur people in south Xinjiang know little about the standard language of the country. They are unable to work outside their hometown because of the difficulty in communication. For these people, there are training courses covering the simple standard language. It can help them communicate with others, and make them feel part of the local community and the workplace.
Third, they need to learn what is religion and how to practice it. They need to learn how to protect their lawful rights concerning their religious beliefs, how to conduct normal religious activities under the protection of the law, and what is the true meaning of religion. Of course, in the vocational education and training centers, there are believers of other religions besides Islam. They must be able to learn the true meaning of religion.
Last, the goal of eradicating extremism has to be achieved. What we have to avoid is a situation whereby some people cannot distinguish whether a person is conducting extremist activities under the pretext of practicing religion, because, then, they follow such person blindly everywhere and thus can pose a threat to our society. It will do harm not only to these individuals, but also the life and property of others. It will also harm the social order, the unification of our country, and the peaceful and harmonious life of our people.
The trainees can leave the vocational education and training centers at an appropriate time. After study, the majority of them can find suitable jobs that they really like, and they can earn a satisfactory living. These people have become positive social factors, and achieved remarkable success in helping others to find a job and get rich.
As Mr. Alken just introduced, we have received government officials, diplomats, religious figures, officials of human rights organizations and personnel of all walks of life from dozens of countries. When they arrived at Xinjiang, they were allowed to go to any place they wished, including remote areas like Kashgar and Hotan. They could talk with the trainees in the centers. Most of them felt that the center was an excellent creation, and that it could effectively curb violent terrorist acts and the spread of extremism. Today, the society and all people in Xinjiang are focused on shaking off poverty and getting rich, leading a prosperous and happy life, and keeping an inclusive attitude towards other social and ethnic groups. This is a positive change. We welcome journalists, government officials, personnel of all walks of life and religious figures from other countries to go to Xinjiang and take a look personally. You can visit any vocational education and training center anywhere you like. Many centers now are oriented to short-term training on agricultural skills or vocational skills.
Alken Tuniaz:
Please allow me to add some points on this issue. All trainings in the vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang are carried out in accordance with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and relative laws. The legal rights of trainees should not be encroached upon. No one is allowed to abuse trainees mentally or physically through any means. The personal freedom of trainees must be protected. Trainees can take a few days off if there is a need. They are also allowed to go home regularly. Their right to use the spoken and written language of their ethnic groups must be protected. The lifestyles of their ethnic groups must be protected and respected. The freedom of religion must also be protected. According to the Regulations on Religious Affairs formulated by the State Council, trainees are not allowed to conduct religious activities during their study; however, when they return home, they can resume their religious activities freely under the law. Like any other school, these centers also have venues for cultural and sports activities for trainees to relax in their spare time.
Not long ago, I went to Kashgar and heard a story from an 85-year-old Uygur man about his son who did all sorts of bad things. In the past, the man wouldn't listen to his parents, abused his wife, forced his sisters to wear full face and body coverings. However, in the vocational education and training center, he learnt the standard language, knew what is allowed by the laws, and acquired some working skills. He then started a business near his home, and even helped other people. After telling me the story, the old man held my hands and extended his gratitude to the Party and the government for saving his son. There are many stories like this in Xinjiang. I hope journalist friends can talk with local people and learn the real changes taking place in Xinjiang. Thank you.
Hong Kong Economic Herald:
My question relates to local tourism. Xinjiang can always remind us of the splendid scenes unfolded by the lonesome pillars of smoke rising from the vast desert and the sinking sun sits round on the endless stream. It is also associated with ancient cites and over one-thousand-year-old populous euphratica forests. It is a merry land in the eyes of Wang Luobin, the late legendary folk songwriter and singer from western China. With such bountiful tourism resources, how do you plan to develop local tourism? Thank you.
Alken Tuniaz:
Thanks for your question. Xinjiang has rich tourism resources with a great potential for development. By the end of 2018, the region had 12 scenic spots rated 5A (the highest rating for Chinese scenic spots), 79 at 4A, and 132 at 3A. Xinjiang is well known for its unique natural scenery. The major destinations include the Heavenly Lake and Tianshan Mountains Scenic Area, divine Kanas Lake, the emerald vineyards of Turpan, the earthly paradise Narat Prairie, the spectacular Koktokay National Geopark, Zepu Jinhuyang National Forest Park in Kashgar and the Tianshan Grand Canyon. Meanwhile, Xinjiang showcases a kaleidoscope of local traditions and customs, featuring diversified folk cultures, arts, sports, costumes and foods. Besides, people of the ethnic groups in Xinjiang are born dancers and singers, and Xinjiang is dubbed the "Home of Songs and Dances".
With the dividends of stability continuing to be unleashed, Xinjiang's tourism has secured rapid growth momentum. Mr. Shohrat has introduced the local tourism industry's performance in 2018 and in the first half this year. Xinjiang will hopefully receive more than 200 million tourists this year as the numbers have been growing exponentially since the beginning of the year. We are fully confident in achieving the growth target.
Regarding your question about the further development of tourism, General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that tourism is a comprehensive industry, a major driving force in economic growth and a bridge to facilitate exchanges and foster friendship among different civilizations and cultures. If tourism is flourishing, it drives other businesses. Based on past achievements, we will follow the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on tourism development, fleshing out the strategic plan to ensure the region can flourish as a tourist economy, and working to establish it as one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. We are fully focused on developing tourism as a new economic growth point for Xinjiang.
First, we will attach great importance to the role of plans. We'll improve the tourism development master plan and development plans for key areas. Special plans will be formulated for major projects, itineraries and scenic spots. At the same time, we'll foster all-for-one tourism and implement the "Tourism plus" strategy to integrate the development of tourism, culture, sports, transportation, agriculture and the forestry industry.
Second, we will focus on creating famous tourism brands. We aim to fully promote Xinjiang as a top destination for its natural scenery, folk customs, history, culture, resorts and outdoor activities. We plan to develop self-drive tours, land cultivation tours, rural tourism and border tourism. We'll explore ecological tourism in the Altai mountain range, prairie cultural tourism in Ili, folk cultural tourism along the routes of the Belt and Road initiative and golden tourism itineraries surrounding the Tianshan Mountain range. The 561-kilometer-long Duku Highway, which is flanked by mountains, prairies, rivers and forests with beautiful natural scenery all year round, is going viral online. Nowadays, the traffic load there reaches over 13,000 vehicles per day. We're developing all-for-one tourism with tourism circuits covering the entire region. At the same time, we are making efforts in improving and updating the scenic spots to lay a solid foundation for becoming 5A-tourist destinations. In addition, we are boosting the development of traditional tourism products, as well as folk handicrafts, specialties and agricultural and sideline products, in an effort to establish distinctive and popular tourism brands.
Third, we plan to upgrade our tourism services. We will focus on improving services to meet tourists' needs for catering, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, shopping and entertainment, and apply new technologies, new media and new methods both online and offline to promote local tourism. At the same time, we aim to break transport bottlenecks by accelerating the construction of railways, highways and civil aviation networks.
Fourth, we are boosting construction of transport infrastructure to build a seamless, integrated and faster transport network, and the efforts are already paying off.
Next, we will focus on upgrading the supporting facilities within the scenic spots, especially in the major cities, major tourism towns and villages, and along main highways. We will strengthen regulation of our tourism market and improve our services to improve tourists' satisfaction. We hope that local tourism can eventually become a pillar industry releasing the greatest dividends to help people become rich. We sincerely welcome you media people to take your friends and families to visit Xinjiang and enjoy the remarkable natural scenery there. Thank you.
Guangming Daily:
After listening to your introduction just now, as a Xinjiang native who works outside the region, I am particularly proud of the achievements my hometown has made. My question is about religious work. A high proportion of people of the ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang believe in Islam. How are the legitimate rights and interests on freedom of religious belief guaranteed for religious believers from the various ethnic groups in Xinjiang? Thank you.
Shohrat Zakir:
Indeed, as this reporter has pointed out, there are many religious believers in Xinjiang. First, since ancient times, many religions have spread, evolved and undergone changes in Xinjiang. The ethnic groups living in Xinjiang for generations have held belief in various religions, such as primitive religions, as well as Christianity, Buddhism, and Taoism. Multiple religions have long coexisted in Xinjiang. Especially since the 11th century, Islam has been spreading. Islam has become a religion with relatively more followers in Xinjiang. Therefore, we respect and protect the freedom of religious belief of everyone.
When the State produced the Constitution, it also clearly stipulated that every citizen enjoys the freedom to believe in, or not to believe in, any particular religion; or to believe in one religion or another. The freedom of religious belief is protected by law. The basic principles of the CPC on religious work are "protecting the lawful, banning the unlawful, containing the extremist, resisting infiltration and punishing crime." Therefore, legal religious beliefs and legal religious activities have always been protected in our country. Religious believers can engage in appropriate religious activities according to their own beliefs. Regarding the number of venues for religious activities, we have a remarkably large number of venues in comparison not only with other provincial regions in China, but also with some areas in the world where the population is similarly large.
Second, we provide management and services for religious affairs. As I said earlier, there are many venues for religious activities in Xinjiang because there are many religious groups. These venues include mosques, churches, Buddhist monasteries and Taoist temples. There are a total of 24,800 venues. Please think about this. We only have about 25 million people in Xinjiang, and not all of them are religious believers. In addition, we also have 29,300 clerical personnel. Among so many venues for religious activities, there are 24,400 mosques for the practice of Islam. I often hear from surprised foreign guests from countries where Islam is the main religion, who say "our population scale is more or less the same, but how do you manage to have more venues than we do?" We fully respect the religious beliefs of all ethnic groups. There is a university in Xinjiang called the Xinjiang Islamic Institute, where students are having undergraduate education just as in normal universities.
As we enhance the management and services for religious affairs, we require venues for religious activities, such as mosques, monasteries, Taoist temples and churches, to ensure absolute safety. The government often allocates funds to help them repair and maintain the facilities, in addition to ensuring basic necessities by providing "seven accesses, two conveniences, and nine equipment," which probably may not be realized anywhere else in the world.
"Seven accesses" means that, any venue for religious activities should have access to water, electricity, desirable road connectivity, supply of natural gas, a communications network, radio and television network, and its own cultural bookstore with religious books or other types of books, newspapers and magazines. All of these need to be available in a mosque.
"Two conveniences" means that ablution rooms and water closets are built. Muslims attending a mosque need to perform ritual ablutions before prayers -- this is what their religion requires. As they pray five times a day, they have to cleanse themselves five times - so we build a place for them to do the ablutions. In addition, we have built water closets. The flushing toilets are easily available in the city, but they can hardly be found in the vast rural areas. However, we make sure to provide these conveniences at venues for religious activities.
"Nine equipment " means that nine kinds of facilities and amenities should be provided. As venues for religious activities are sites for public activities, some people may suffer a heart attack or sudden illness, so we provide medical kits free of charge, as well as electronic displays, and computers. At the same time, according to the size of monasteries, churches and mosques, we equip them with electric fans or air conditioners, especially for the main mosque of a city used for the Friday communal prayer where more people convene. In the smaller mosques, we will provide electric fans, so that people who pray inside will not feel stiflingly hot. What's more, we require that fire-fighting facilities must be equipped, because these are public venues, where a large number of religious believers gather, and, for their safety, there must be means to fight any outbreak of fire. There is also natural gas for conveniently boiling water, or automatic drinking water equipment. Some churches and mosques provide shoe covers -- when it's raining and people step inside with muddy shoes, these covers can ensure cleanliness. There are also lockers for people to store things. These details are meticulously carried out and show our care.
The religious believers are part of the wider society. Great efforts have been made to create a highly clean, comfortable and good environment for them. By so doing, we have guaranteed the normal needs and demands of religious believers.
Therefore, regarding the question just asked about how freedom of religious belief is guaranteed, we can see that first, China legally guarantees one's freedom to believe in, or not to believe in, any particular religion; or to believe in one religion or another. Second, the government has exerted great efforts to guarantee that all venues for religious activities are safe and as comfortable as possible, so that religious believers will feel that by living in such a society and living in a socialist country like China, they can fully enjoy the rights they deserve.
Economic Daily:
Xinjiang, especially southern Xinjiang, is a contiguous poor area, which requires much work on poverty alleviation. My question is: How will Xinjiang achieve the goal of getting rid of poverty on schedule, and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects along with the whole country? Thank you.
Shohrat Zakir:
This question is of great public concern. I would like to invite Mr. Zhang to answer you.
Zhang Chunlin:
Thanks for your question about Xinjiang's economic development and poverty alleviation work. Xinjiang, especially the four prefectures in southern Xinjiang — Hotan, Kashgar, Aksu and Kizilsu Kirgiz, is indeed a contiguous poor area, facing great challenges in poverty alleviation. In 2014, a total of 3,131,800 people from 793,100 households were registered as living beneath the poverty line. Xinjiang had 3,668 poor villages and 35 poor counties at that time. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, with the strong support from government departments and 19 provinces and municipalities providing paired aid for Xinjiang, the region has fully implemented the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and General Secretary Xi's major expositions on poverty alleviation. Showing great responsibility and perseverance, we have overcome difficulties and achieved initial progress in poverty alleviation. From 2014 to 2018, we lifted a total of 2,314,700 people from 588, 700 households, 2,131 poor villages and 13 poor counties out of poverty. By the end of 2018, the poverty headcount ratio had dropped from 19.4% in 2013 to 6.1%.
With our efforts in the past five years, there were only 204,400 households and 817,100 people living under the poverty line at the end of 2018. The number of poor villages and poor counties has been cut to 1,537 and 22 respectively. All counties in northern and eastern Xinjiang were lifted out of poverty.
In particular, since the 18th CPC National Congress, Xinjiang has gained a wealth of experience in poverty alleviation work. These can be summarized as follows:
First, all localities have shouldered their due responsibilities under the strong leadership of the CPC. Xinjiang made poverty alleviation a top priority and the paramount livelihood project. Party organizations at autonomous region, prefecture, county, township and village levels in Xinjiang have actively participated in the poverty alleviation work. Party secretaries shoulder the most important task, and work to enhance the CPC leadership. Xinjiang also set up a Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development, and a Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation in Poverty-Stricken Areas, with Chen Quanguo, secretary of the CPC Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee and Shohrat Zakir, chairman of the Xinjiang regional government, as the leading figures. A total of 52 leaders at the provincial level have been active in the work of connecting poor counties, villages and households. In particular, Mr. Chen and Mr. Shohrat Zakir have visited all the poor counties and guided the poverty alleviation work themselves. Meanwhile, a deputy Party secretary and a vice chairman of the regional government have been appointed to be in charge of the poverty alleviation work. For example, as the executive vice chairman of the government, I make economic development and poverty alleviation work as my top priority. In the four prefectures in southern Xinjiang — Hotan, Kashgar, Aksu and Kizilsu Kirgiz, a deputy Party secretary was also required to work on poverty alleviation with a vice head of the local governments at prefecture, county and township levels. In addition, Xinjiang sent a number of major secretaries and working groups (including five to seven members) to 3,668 poor villages to help with the local poverty alleviation work.
Second, we will adhere to objective standards to strengthen policy support and ensure availability of adequate funds. Budgetary input is crucial to winning the battle against poverty, and we are coordinating various resources and promoting our strength to ensure budget sufficiency. In 2016, the budgetary input for Xinjiang's poverty-alleviation work totaled less than 4 billion yuan. However, in recent years, we have been increasing the amount. I will share two of these numbers in this regard with you today. In 2018, all categories of budgetary input for poverty-alleviation work in Xinjiang reached 33.41 billion yuan. In the first half of 2019, a total of 38.152 billion yuan has been channeled into poverty alleviation, among which those for four prefectures in southern Xinjiang reached 35.946 billion yuan, or 94.22% of the total. As the most severe poverty-stricken areas, these four prefectures have become the priority of our poverty-relief funding. At the same time, we have strengthened policy support. This is demonstrated not only by our determination to win the battle against poverty, but also through drawing up the "13th Five-Year Plan for poverty alleviation in Xinjiang" and the "Implementation Plan (2018-2020) of Poverty Alleviation in Poverty-stricken Areas in Four Prefectures in Southern Xinjiang.
Third, we will continue to adhere to targeted poverty alleviation policies. The policy of "seven paths to alleviate poverty" has delivered solid progress in Xinjiang. Based on General Secretary Xi Jinping's concept of "targeted poverty alleviation in six aspects", designed to adapt poverty relief measures to local conditions, we are following a policy of the policy of "seven paths to alleviate poverty," and have made breakthroughs in leveraging local industry and employment to alleviate poverty. Now, I will introduce these "seven paths to alleviate poverty" in detail. First, is to alleviate poverty by relocating surplus employment. We have been implementing a plan to relocate 100,000 surplus laborers to northern Xinjiang, to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps., as well as to other parts of China. Up to now, the employment of 96,500 people living in poverty through relocation has helped lift a total of 289,500 people out of poverty.
Second, is the way to alleviate poverty by supporting the development of local industry. We have been focusing on labor-intensive industries, such as textiles, garments, and the assembling of electronic products. We have also been developing jobs in the planting and breeding sectors, folk handicrafts, as well as rural tourism. Poverty-alleviation workshops have been built to help people living in poverty find jobs in places close to home. A total 372,400 people have been lifted out of poverty. In the first half of 2019, Hotan prefecture alone has introduced 27 shoe manufacturing businesses. This industry has created 11,000 employment opportunities in the county, among which 3,460 employees previously lived in poverty. On July 24 and 25, a convention on shoe manufacturing was held in Hotan, gathering more than 30,000 enterprises. Shoes manufactured there are now being exported to Russia and parts of Europe.
The third route is to use land revenue to pay the labor of people living in poverty. As all the people living in poverty is qualified for this policy, a total of 512,100 job opportunities have been created.
Fourth is to create job opportunities in the civil service, such as border guards. This is aimed at people in poverty-stricken counties along the border. So far, some 50,000 people have found jobs in this regard.
Fifth is to promote poverty alleviation through ecological compensation, and this is targeted at grassland rangers. Around 58,000 people have been lifted out of poverty through this approach.
Sixth is to relocate people from inhospitable areas. A total of 35,000 households, involving 160,000 people in total, have been relocated to industrial parks in counties, away from areas with a fragile environment, such as places around deserts and mountainous regions. Such relocation has greatly contributed to poverty alleviation.
Seventh is to ensure that social security policies meet basic needs of the people living in poverty. This is aimed at some 320,000 people with severe disability, as well as the elderly with no kin to support them. In 10 years from now, we will prepare 2 billion yuan out of our fiscal income every year and use it to back up our social security policies.
Fourth, we have intensified efforts to improve access to education, medical care and infrastructure. We made it our goal to ensure Xinjiang people do not have to worry about food and clothing and have guaranteed access to education, medical care and housing. First, children from poor families in Xinjiang now enjoy free, equal and high-quality education from kindergarten to high school. Second, we have set up a universal urban and rural medical insurance system. Local people can receive convenient medical treatment at multi-level hospitals from countryside to big city. Thanks to the help of other provinces and municipalities, even hospitals at 22 extremely poor counties are able to offer heart surgery. Let me tell you a story. One of our colleagues suffered a heart attack while working at a rural town and needed to have a stent installed in his heart immediately. Instead of sending him to big hospitals in Urumqi, a local hospital finished the surgery through telemedicine and remote consultation. Third, we have improved working and living conditions by accelerating construction of rural roads, provision of safe drinking water and comfortable housing.
Fifth, we have coordinated efforts to alleviate poverty. Besides professional, industrial and social poverty alleviation, Xinjiang also has relief aid from other provinces and municipalities. A total of 249 units at autonomous region department level in Xinjiang paired up with 279 poverty-stricken villages; 16 central state-owned enterprises assisted 27 poverty-stricken counties; 33 relatively developed counties in northern and eastern parts of Xinjiang helped 27 counties in the southern part; 1,240 enterprises provided support to 1,276 poor villages; 1.12 million officials paired up with 1.69 million households to help them get rid of poverty. During the first half of this year, 12.268 billion yuan of Xinjiang-aid funds was spent on poverty alleviation through 970 projects.
These five points set out here are our basic experience. At present, our poverty alleviation efforts have yielded decisive results. Among 22 deep poverty-stricken counties in southern Xinjiang, we plan to lift 12 out of poverty in 2019 and another 10 in 2020. In order to implement the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping when he presided over a symposium about solving prominent problems, including meeting the basic needs of food and clothing and guaranteeing compulsory education, basic medical care and housing, which was held in Chongqing on April 16, 2019, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee of the CPC held a plenary meeting in late June, at which nine directions were clarified for the next-phase of work concerning poverty alleviation.
The first direction is to address identified weak links. We decided this was the necessary starting point for our ongoing work. After an investigation, we found a total of 9,355 households in Xinjiang still lacked safe housing. Construction of the necessary facilities has been started. At the same time, we found that 24 villages in five counties lacked any power supply, though they all have their own private electricity supplies. The power supply refers to the electricity generated for an electric appliance such as washing machine and refrigerator. We have allocated funds for counties in the Kashgar region. The project is underway. It is planned to ensure power supply is made available by the end of June 2020, enabling all villages in Xinjiang to have access to this utility. At the same time, we have also accelerated the coal-to-electricity project in southern Xinjiang. Although the coal resources in Xinjiang are very rich, there is an imbalance in distribution between north and south. We have decided to implement the coal-to-electricity project in Kashgar Prefecture, Hotan Prefecture and Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture in southern Xinjiang this year. The supporting projects related to the power grid are underway, and the coal-to-electricity projects involving more than 330,000 households have been put out to tender, and we will strive to complete them by the end of the year. We will make breakthroughs in improving the power supply in southern Xinjiang, achieving cleaner production, and improving people's lives.
The second direction is to actively focus on targeted measures. The third direction is to focus on efficient project funding. The fourth is to put into place a strong policy guarantee mechanism. The fifth is to improve overall planning, the sixth to improve our abilities in solving problems, the seventh to work out measures to prevent those who have escaped poverty from falling back into that condition again, the eighth to realize the goal of poverty alleviation through knowledge development, while the ninth is to solidify the foundations for all our work.
We have been counting down the days to achieving the final goal of eradicating poverty. Today, there are 520 days to go. In these 520 days, we must work hard to lift people out of poverty, and also make sure they never fall back into being poor again. There are 22 deep poverty-stricken counties. We must help them all get out of poverty. And in the meantime, we must consolidate the achievements already made in helping poverty-stricken counties to improve their conditions. Also, we must do a good job in those counties that have got rid of poverty to ensure they can maintain this state.
We have already taken concrete measures to prevent any return to poverty. The first is to improve related database by establishing electronic archives for every poor household. Through data informatization, it means we can formulate targeted plans to promote poverty alleviation in the future.
The second is to strengthen the mechanism for determining whether people have been lifted out of poverty. For those poor counties that have already got rid of poverty, we never slacken our efforts. We continue to support them and provide them with a series of favorable policies. In the second half of the year, we will prepare to allocate funds to address weak links so as to consolidate the achievements made in poverty alleviation. In order to prevent any slackening in progress, it is more important to mobilize ordinary people, strengthen the training of officials and promote skills training of poor households. As Mr. Shohrat Zakir and Mr. Alken Tuniaz introduced just now, we will strengthen the occupational training of all ethnic groups to stimulate endogenous motivation with the help of the vocational education and training centers.
After years of practice, we are confident in the effectiveness of our poverty relief efforts because we have found the right path. In particular, major breakthroughs have been made in poverty reduction through employment and industrial development. Hotan is the least developed area among the four prefectures in southern Xinjiang. Now, Hotan has launched a large-scale livestock and poultry breeding industry, having introduced over 20 million rabbits from Sichuan province and over 100,000 donkeys through cooperation with Dong’e Ejiao Co Ltd in Shandong province. Xinjiang actively promotes forestry and fruit farming. The red dates and walnuts grown in Xinjiang top the nation in quality. All of these efforts have contributed to poverty reduction. And we are confident in its success.
We believe that, after a prolonged period of hard work lasting 520 days, by the end of 2020, Xinjiang is bound to shake off poverty and build a moderately prosperous society in all respects in tandem with the rest of the country. We welcome you to visit the villages in Xinjiang, either those who have alleviated poverty or those that have not, and check our progress. We also welcome you to visit Xinjiang again in the first half of 2021 when we have won the battle against poverty. I will conclude here. Thank you.
Hu Kaihong:
Lastly, allow me to give the floor to Mr. Shohrat Zakir.
Shohrat Zakir:
Thank you very much. Thank you for your attention for the past two hours. Some of you have raised very good questions that are of wide interest. We're glad to answer them. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your longstanding interest and support for Xinjiang. I also want to thank the State Council Information Office for giving us this opportunity to introduce Xinjiang to the rest of the country and the rest of the world. Starting from scratch, Xinjiang has changed greatly in the past 70 years. My colleagues and I have experienced Xinjiang's transformation from poverty to prosperity, and from underdevelopment to modernization. And we're proud to live in this era. Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core as well as under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we believe Xinjiang will become better with each passing day. We welcome you to Xinjiang and hopefully, through your reports, more people will come and visit. Xinjiang is a beautiful place and we deeply love and proud of it. As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, we hope that Xinjiang will become better and contribute more to the country’s achievements 30 years later when we celebrate the PRC's centennial. Thank you.
Hu Kaihong:
This is the end of today's press conference. Thank you, Mr. Shohrat Zakir, Mr. Alken Tuniaz and Mr. Zhang Chunlin. Thank you for coming.
