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

“ Citizens, regardless of ethnicity and belief, are free to move, choose their own jobs, and lead the lives they choose as far as the law permits without external interference or constraint. At the same time, Xinjiang has made great efforts to operate radio and television stations, publish newspapers and magazines, and build internet infrastructure and various online platforms, so that citizens can enjoy their right to freedom of expression through smoother channels and in more diverse and convenient ways. ”

“ Twenty-two civil airports have been completed and opened, the highest among all provincial-level administrative units in China. Modern vehicles and communication tools have become common in both urban and rural households. Every effort is being made to ensure the provision of express delivery services in every village.
The right to work is protected. Work provides the means for people to subsist. Everyone has the right to work and create a better life. Xinjiang has made employment the priority among its measures for improving the people’s wellbeing. ”

“ For more than four years since the end of 2016 there has been no terrorist incident in Xinjiang. The infiltration of extremism has been effectively curbed, and the right to life of people of all ethnic groups has been fully protected.
Liberty is respected and protected. Liberty is the inviolable right of citizens to carry out whatever activities they wish within the confines of the law. Religious extremists regard those who do not follow extremist practices as "infidels". ”

“ Xinjiang guarantees women’s equality in employment and their right to equal pay for equal work. The number of women in employment continues to expand. In 2019, 480,900 new urban jobs were created, of which 228,100 were taken up by women, accounting for 47.4 percent of the total. Women are now playing an important role in various fields, and their social and family status has improved notably.
Women’s rights and interests are effectively protected. Xinjiang has implemented a health program available to all women in the region, and provided free screening for breast and cervical cancer. ”

“ Upholding a people-centered philosophy, Xinjiang pursues rapid economic and social development. More effort and investment have been made to improve the people’s wellbeing. All ethnic groups enjoy equal opportunities and economic rights, and are developing the region together and building better lives. ”

“ They insinuate religious extremism into people's daily lives, inciting and forcing women to wear burqas and men to wear long beards in the name of religion. They try to persuade people not to watch TV, listen to the radio, read newspapers, cry at funerals, or laugh at weddings, and forbid them to sing and dance. They abuse the halal concept to interfere with daily routines and people's right to choose their way of life.
To prevent the infringement of civil liberties, Xinjiang has taken resolute measures to combat extremism, in full accordance with the Constitution, laws and regulations. ”

“ Almost every household has access to radio and TV programs, and people in rural areas can watch films and visit small libraries in their villages. Both urban and rural residents enjoy a variety of cultural activities. Art and literature are flourishing with an abundance of excellent works. Every year Xinjiang publishes more than 10,000 different newspapers, periodicals, books, audio and video products, and e-publications, and translates over 5,000 episodes of TV series and cartoons into ethnic minority languages. ”

“ Integrating the principle of universal human rights with the country's realities, China has enriched its strategy for the governance of Xinjiang with the following guidelines: governing Xinjiang in accordance with the law, maintaining stability in the region through ethnic unity, nourishing the cultures of Xinjiang, promoting prosperity among the local population, and developing Xinjiang from a long-term perspective. ”

“ A multi-layered basic social security system with wide coverage is now in place, including old-age insurance, medical insurance, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance, and subsistence allowances.
In 2011 Xinjiang took the lead in establishing basic old-age and medical insurance schemes that cover all local residents and bring urban and rural areas under unified management, realizing universal access to basic social security in the region. Poor people are guaranteed affordable medical services through basic medical insurance, serious illness insurance, and medical assistance. ”

“ The Constitution stipulates that citizens of the People’s Republic of China shall enjoy freedom of religious belief, and that the state shall protect normal religious activities. In Xinjiang, people have the freedom to believe in or not believe in any religion, to believe in one religion in preference to another, to believe in any sect of the same religion, to abandon their past beliefs, and to become believers at their chosen time.
No organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in or not believe in any religion ”

“ The right to vote and stand for election is institutionalized. As stipulated by the Constitution and laws, Chinese citizens of any ethnic origin have the right to vote and stand for election. The principles in elections are: universal suffrage, equality, combination of direct and indirect elections, and multi-candidate election [In elections for national and local people’s congresses, the number of candidates for election must exceed the number of posts available.] ”

“ According to the Constitution and relevant laws, all citizens have reproductive rights and both husband and wife have the duty to practice family planning. Family planning is a basic national policy, with an emphasis on reproductive health, and prenatal, postnatal and early-life care. It has a direct bearing on gender equality, women’s empowerment, poverty reduction, and sustainable development.
The application of family planning measures in China was gradually extended from coastal and inland to border regions, from urban to rural areas, and from the Han people to ethnic minorities. ”

“ To date, the China Islamic Institute and the Xinjiang Islamic Institute and its branches have trained more than 4,000 students.
Conclusion
Achieving equality is one of the constant goals of humanity. Ethnic equality is one of the fundamental principles on which China is founded. The CPC always takes it as its mission to bring equality and happiness to the people, and over the years has identified the path with Chinese characteristics as the best approach to ethnic affairs. As a result, all ethnic groups in China enjoy true equal rights. ”

“ As of March 2021, the 12th Xinjiang Committee of the CPPCC had submitted a total of 2,588 proposals covering politics, the economy, culture, education, science and technology, public wellbeing and other fields.
Community-level self-governance is guaranteed in accordance with the law. Community-level self-governance is a major channel of grassroots democracy in China, and the most effective way to spread as widely as possible the right of the people to be the masters of the country. ”

“ Xinjiang gives full play to the role of women’s federations in safeguarding women’s legitimate rights and interests. They listen to women’s voices, reflect their concerns, give them support in their work and life, and help resolve women’s rights issues. There is an active campaign to prevent and stop domestic violence against women. In 2020, Xinjiang formulated and enforced the Measures on Implementing the Anti-Domestic Violence Law. ”

“ Higher education in Xinjiang is also improving. It now has 56 regular universities, with a total of 2.1 million graduates by 2020, including 767,000 ethnic minority graduates.
Public cultural services have been improved. Xinjiang is moving faster to build a modern public cultural services network characterized by equal access and rich content and variety, meeting the needs of local people. With strong support from the central government, Xinjiang has made sure that all villages have access to radio and TV programs and that all households have access to direct broadcast satellite services. ”

“ Health is an essential factor in leading a happy life. Putting people’s health first, Xinjiang is taking measures to implement the Healthy China initiative, improve the health services network covering both urban and rural areas, and provide health services of higher quality. ”

“ It encourages ethnic groups to learn spoken and written languages from each other, and takes solid measures to ensure the right to education.
Xinjiang's fine traditional ethnic cultures are protected. The splendid Chinese civilization was created by all ethnic groups of China, and the ethnic cultures are an inseparable part of Chinese culture. China’s Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics and Law on Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Xinjiang’s local measures and regulations on implementing these laws have laid down a solid legal framework for protecting the ethnic cultures in the region. ”

“ In parallel with the region’s economic and social development, the different ethnic groups began to develop similar expectations in terms of family structure, so Xinjiang amended the Regulations on Population and Family Planning in 2017, introducing universal family planning policies for all ethnic groups: two children per couple for urban residents and three per couple for rural residents. In line with the national adjustments to laws and policies regarding population and family planning, Xinjiang will further modify and improve relevant local regulations and policies. ”

“ Subject to the principles of protecting lawful practices, proscribing illegal activities, containing extremism, resisting infiltration, and punishing crime, the local government of Xinjiang fully applies the policy, protecting legitimate religious activities and ensuring the public’s freedom of religious belief in accordance with the law.
Freedom of religious belief is guaranteed by law. This freedom is a basic right of citizens. ”

“ Fourteen forms of basic public health service are provided to urban and rural residents for free, covering almost the whole life cycle. A fund for health checkups was set up in 2016, into which RMB8.2 billion has been injected to date, so that every resident in Xinjiang can have a free annual health checkup to spot early signs of illnesses. Major epidemics and endemics have been brought under control. ”

“ Xinjiang currently has 3,389 urban residents committees and 8,906 villagers committees to run public or welfare affairs, mediate disputes, assist in safeguarding social stability within their respective jurisdictions, and report on the opinions, requests and proposals of residents and villagers to relevant people’s governments or their detached agencies. Almost all communities in both urban and rural areas throughout Xinjiang have formulated codes of conduct for citizens. ”

“ Under the national plan to ensure universal access to social security, the actual coverage of basic old-age insurance for urban and rural residents in Xinjiang stands above 95 percent. Unemployment, work-related injury and maternity insurance schemes have been extended to cover all occupational groups. All poor people are now covered by basic medical, old-age and serious illness insurance. ”

“ While promoting employment, Xinjiang guarantees legitimate labor rights and interests in accordance with the law, such as equal employment opportunities, remuneration, social insurance, rest and leave, and occupational safety. ”

“ Respect for women and protection of children are signs of social progress. Xinjiang attaches great importance to work related to women and children. It strives to solve the prominent problems they encounter, and promotes steady progress in the relevant undertakings. The legitimate rights and interests of women and children are effectively protected. ”

“ Supported by the central government and the region’s partners in the national paired assistance program, Xinjiang has adopted poverty alleviation measures to help the poor, such as developing businesses, creating job opportunities, improving education and health care, renovating dilapidated rural houses, and relocating the poor from inhospitable areas. ”

“ Xinjiang has provided additional support to severely impoverished areas, and to key groups including university graduates, surplus urban and rural labor, workers from poor families, people experiencing difficulties in finding work, and rural women. ”

“ By the end of 2020, more than 2.7 million rural people in Xinjiang living below the current poverty line had emerged from poverty, and 3,666 villages and 32 counties were no longer classified as poor. Rural residents in poor areas have seen rapid growth in both incomes and consumption spending. Their per capita disposable income was RMB13,052 in 2020, an average annual increase of 10.8 percent since 2012; their per capital consumption spending was RMB9,007 in 2020, an average annual increase of 9 percent since 2013. ”

“ Xinjiang attaches great importance to documenting and protecting its excellent traditional ethnic cultures, to ensure that they are passed on to succeeding generations. It has continued its efforts to improve the quality of public cultural services and promote the use of standard Chinese. ”

“ A number of local regulations provide the legal basis for protecting grassroots democratic rights in the region, including Measures on Implementing the Organic Law of the Urban Residents Committees, Measures on Implementing the Organic Law of the Villagers Committees, Procedures on the Election of the Villagers Committee, and Measures on Making Village Affairs Transparent. ”

“ Xinjiang has continued to implement a program to improve children’s nutrition, providing free nutrition packages to rural children under school age, thus comprehensively improving children’s health and nutrition. Vaccination coverage among children in Xinjiang remains at a high level, with over 90 percent coverage under the national immunization program, and the region’s ability to prevent childhood diseases has been strengthened. ”

“ Emphasis is placed on improving the status of women. Xinjiang upholds the constitutional principle of equality between men and women and guarantees the right of women to participate in democratic decision-making, management and supervision of governance and social affairs. ”

“ Funding for education has steadily increased. In 2020, public education expenditure reached RMB102 billion, including RMB9.1 billion of direct subsidies for 6.7 million students. By 2020, 160,200 students from Xinjiang, including 138,500 ethnic minority students, had received senior high school or secondary vocational education at classes designed for them in more developed areas of the country. ”