State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China

“ In order to thoroughly safeguard regional ethnic autonomy and the various rights of the ethnic minorities, Xinjiang places great importance on creating study and training opportunities for ethnic-minority cadres, sending large numbers of ethnic-minority cadres to study in colleges and universities in inland provinces, running schools and training classes for ethnic-minority cadres at various levels in Xinjiang, and thus training and fostering a large body of administrative and professional ethnic-minority cadres for work in political, economic, cultural and other spheres. ”

“ To respect ethnic minorities’ folkways and customs, the central and regional people’s governments have promulgated a number of regulations. To guarantee the supply of special food needed by ethnic minorities, Muslims in particular, the people’s government has promulgated regulations and taken a sequence of specific measures, for instance by requiring large and medium-sized cities and small towns with sizable Muslim populations to have a definite number of Muslim restaurants. ”

“ During its long years of development, the XPCC has become a mosaic of people from 37 ethnic groups, including the Han, Uygur, Kazak, Hui and Mongolian. In the reclamation areas live Muslims, Buddhists, Protestants and Catholics. The population of Muslims is over 250,000. Carrying out the central government’s policies toward ethnic groups and religions in an all-round way, the XPCC handles religious affairs in accordance with the law, and has become a large, united, multi-ethnic family. ”

“ The Uygur, Kazak, Hui, Kirgiz, Mongolian, Tajik and Xibe ethnic minorities now all have their own professional theatrical troupes and have produced a galaxy of outstanding artists. Before the founding of New China, Xinjiang had no public library or museum to speak of. Today, it boasts 81 public libraries and 23 museums. In recent years, radio and television have advanced in seven-league boots. Currently, there are 41 radio transmission and relay stations, and 826 television transmission and relay stations. Radio reaches 91.3% of Xinjiang’s population, and 90.93% have access to television. ”

“ Citizens who have reached the age of 18 have the right to vote and stand for election, regardless of ethnic status, race, sex or religious belief; freedom of the person and the personal dignity of citizens of all ethnic groups are inviolable; all ethnic groups have the right to enjoy freedom of religious belief; citizens of all ethnic groups have the right to receive education ”

“ The Western Han court appointed Zheng Ji as the Frontier Commander of the Western Regions, with his headquarters in Urli (in modern Luntai County) , to administer over the whole region. The local chieftains and principal officials in all parts of the Western Regions all accepted official seals from the Western Han court. The establishment of the Western Regions Frontier Command indicated that the Western Han had begun to exercise state sovereignty over the Western Regions, and that Xinjiang had become a component part of the unitary multi-ethnic Chinese nation. ”

“ The development of the XPCC in the past five decades has played a very important role in accelerating the economic development of Xinjiang, promoting unity among ethnic groups, maintaining social stability, consolidating border defense, and shoring up the unification of the motherland. ”

“ Local economic development has been effectively supported. The large oilfields in Xinjiang, such as Karamay, Tuha and Tarim, and major petrochemical enterprises in Zepu, Dushanzi, Urumqi and Karamay, fully using their human resources and financial and technological advantages, have aided local enterprises and invested in local construction. The Desert Petroleum Highway, which runs from north to south across the Taklimakan Desert, was built with an investment of 785 million yuan from the Tarim Oilfield. ”

“ All religious bodies independently carry out religious activities within the scope prescribed by law. All religious bodies play an important role in training, fostering, educating and administering their clergy and establishing and running religious schools, as well as in international religious exchanges.
In order to ensure the normal operation of religious activities, Xinjiang has established an Islamic college specializing in training senior clergymen. Islamic bodies in prefectures and prefectural-level cities have opened Islamic classes to train clergymen in accordance with actual needs. ”

“ In the past half century, Xinjiang’s economy and social undertakings have advanced by leaps and bounds.
Fast growth of the economy. The GDP of Xinjiang was 148.548 billion yuan in 2001. Taking price rises into account, this was 42.9 times that of 1952, and an annual growth rate of 8.0%. The per-capita GDP rose from 166 yuan in 1952 to 7,913 yuan in 2001. The autonomous region’s revenues amounted to 17.807 billion yuan in 2001, or 102.9 times the 1955 figure of 173 million yuan. Xinjiang’s industrial structure has been constantly adjusted and optimized. ”

“ Since 1989, with arrangements made by the central government, more than 80 institutions of higher learning in the hinterland have extended their support to Xinjiang by enrolling from among Xinjiang’s ethnic minorities 10,000 university and junior college students, 640 post-graduate students for specific posts or work units, 860 teachers and education administration personnel, and 1,400 business administration personnel, as well as sending a number of ethnic-minority visiting scholars abroad for further studies. ”

“ Literary and artistic creation is flourishing. The Rainbow of the Tianshan Mountains, Pioneers of Muqam and a spate of other outstanding artworks have won national awards. The full-length song-and-dance ensemble Bravo Xinjiang has caused a great stir throughout the country. A number of literary and artistic works with strong ethnic characteristics have been well received nationwide and even abroad. ”

“ Now, there are more than 24,000 venues for religious activities in Xinjiang, of which 23,753 are Islamic mosques. There are 26,800 clerical persons, of whom 26,500 are of the Islamic faith. Every year, the government allocates specialized funds for the maintenance and repair of the key mosques, monasteries and churches. In 1999 alone, 7.6 million yuan was allocated by the central government for the reconstruction of the Yanghang Mosque in Urumqi, the Baytulla Mosque in Yining and the Jamae Mosque in Hotan. ”

“ The ratio of the educated population of the region has grown remarkably. The proportion of illiteracy among the young and middle-aged has dropped to less than 2%.
Progress in science and technology. The overall strength of science and technology has increased tremendously. The region has established a research and development system, a technology popularization system, and a sci-tech administration and service system with relatively complete and supplementary disciplines, relatively rational distribution and distinctive local characteristics ”

“ The central government also encourages the construction of grain and cotton production bases in Xinjiang, the building of shelter-forests in northern, northeastern and northwestern China, and the construction of desertification control projects. The central government requires that preferential policies for aiding economic development in the impoverished areas be carried out ”