China’s Most Direct Security Threat

Chaos was rampant in China’s westernmost region. Explosions and other violence struck terror in the hearts of residents in the country's Xinjiang region. The victims and survivors should be remembered in China's current fight against terrorism.

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The East Turkistan Islamic Movement, or ETIM, is designated as a terrorist organization by the UN. For decades, the group which has close links with international terrorist organizations perpetrated countless terrorist attacks aiming to separate the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from China.

The movement has attempted to recruit people on a massive scale, spreading a radical ideology that continues to cause chaos in many countries around the world.

In this exclusive CGTN exposé, we show you never-before-seen footage including interviews with perpetrators and recruitment videos used by this black hand.

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The Long-Term Fight

Terrorist acts in modern China are just using religious extremism as a banner to separate Xinjiang from the country. ETIM, one of the most wanted terrorist organizations in the country, has been creating strife to divide ethnic groups and religions in the region for decades. Many of its members were trained outside the country in extremist thought, returning to the country to apply their radical ideologies.

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The human cost

An SUV slammed through the barricades in Beijing's iconic Tian'anmen Square in 2013, killing two and wounding 40. The three attackers had sworn the so-called jihad on the hills of Urumqi, a bustling city in China's Xinjiang region.

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Xinjiang-related bill again reveals U.S. true nature of hegemony

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High ranking Chinese official calls U.S.' Pompeo, tells U.S. to stop interfering

Director of the Office of Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Yang Jiechi, has spoken on the phone with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Yang said that the recent U.S. passage of legislation on Hong Kong and Xinjiang was interference in China's domestic affairs.

He said that it violated international law and the basic principles of international affairs. Yang also said that Beijing will resolutely protect its territorial sovereignty and urged the U.S. to stop interfering in China's internal affairs.

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Senior Chinese official condemns US interference in China's internal affairs

BEIJING: Yang Jiechi (pic), member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, held a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday (Dec 8).

Noting that the United States had allowed the so-called "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019" to become law and the House of Representatives of the US Congress to pass the so-called "Uygur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019," Yang said US officials have repeatedly made statements that distort and attack China's political system and internal and external policies.

Those are gross interference in China's internal affairs and a serious violation of the international law, the basic norms of international relations and the will of the Chinese and US people as well as the international community, Yang said.

"China firmly opposes and strongly condemns these acts," he said.

Over the past 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, great achievements which have attracted worldwide attention have been made, Yang said, adding that it is under the leadership of the CPC that the Chinese people have found a path of development suited to China's national conditions.

The Chinese people have a high degree of confidence in their own development path, theory, system and culture and will unswervingly follow their own development path, and no force can stop the Chinese people from marching forward, Yang said.

China's determination to defend national sovereignty, security and development interests is unwavering and no one should expect China to swallow anything that undermines its own interests, Yang said.

Yang said that China urges the US side to come to a clear assessment of the situation, correct its mistakes and immediately stop slandering China and interfering in China's internal affairs. - Xinhua/Asian News Network (ANN)

China condemns U.S. Xinjiang bill

China has slammed the United States' Uygur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019 as it deliberately smears China's counter-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts. What's really driving the U.S. to push the bill and what are its ramifications? Guests: Victor Gao, vice president of the Center for China and Globalization; Einar Tangen, current affairs commentator.

https://youtu.be/F7Qc3GZxV4o

Counter-terrorism proven effective to protect human rights

https://youtu.be/H1OO_3ueW14

Xinjiang makes headway in battle against poverty

https://youtu.be/Shj7uSOg4do

Anti-terrorism efforts effectively protect human rights in Xinjiang
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Documentary reveals facts: Brutal scenes of attacks show sacrifice of police, justify Xinjiang policies

China's first documentary on its overall counter-terrorism efforts in Xinjiang aired Thursday night prompted wide discussions among the audience with never-before-seen scenes of terrorism, which highlighted the hefty price China has paid and the country's resolve to eradicate terrorism.

Video and audio clips in the English-language documentary were shown for the first time as evidence of the horrible crimes wrought by terrorists in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It also showed interactions between terrorists and overseas masterminds.

The nearly one hour-long documentary, "Fighting Terrorism in Xinjiang," which was streamed on CGTN, China's state broadcaster, has four parts. It begins with the evolution of extremism in Xinjiang, followed by the fight against terrorism. It also illustrated the interactions of terrorists and overseas forces accompanied by audio and video evidence. The documentary ends by highlighting international cooperation on counter-terrorism.

Zheng Liang, a research fellow at Guangdong-based Jinan University, who studied Xinjiang for more than 10 years, told the Global Times that he felt "shocked" after viewing the documentary.

Zheng said that previous videos on Xinjiang's counter-terrorism were not as specific and well-edited as the Thursday one. "This newly released documentary uses quite different visual language adopted by mainstream media."

"The authorities did not publish the video and details of terrorist attacks in Xinjiang before out of concern they may cause panic. This proves China had paid a high price in fighting terrorism, and the international community should have a clear understanding of this," Li Wei, a counter-terrorism expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing, told the Global Times.

Li noted that the video and audio footage justify China's Xinjiang policies in countering terrorism, including launching the vocational education and training centers, which have been highly effective in de-radicalizing and fighting extremist forces.

The beginning of the documentary features the landscape of Xinjiang, its culture and the different ethnic groups in China, including the prosperous markets and people's peaceful and happy lives. Then the scene shifts to depicting the threat of terrorism that wrought havoc in the region.

Global threat

Xinjiang has long been the main battlefield of countering terrorism. According to incomplete data, from 1990 to 2016, Xinjiang endured thousands of terrorist attacks that killed large numbers of innocent people and hundreds of police officers.

The documentary features video footage of terrorist attacks in Xinjiang, including one in Yining, Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture in 1997, which left seven dead and 198 injured; the Urumqi riots on July 5, 2009, which caused 197 deaths and over 1,700 injuries; and the 2013 Seriqbuya attack in Kashi, which left 15 dead and two wounded.

Terrorists also orchestrated attacks in other cities of China: ramming a car into a crowd in Tiananmen Square in 2013, and another attack that struck the Kunming railway station on March 1, 2014, that left 31 dead and 141 wounded.

Police officers in Xinjiang work on the frontline of the fight against terrorism. According to data from China Central Television, from 2013 to 2016, a total of 127 police officers in Xinjiang sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

Experts believe terrorism is a global threat, and no country can win the war against terrorism on its own. In the face of the threat of terrorism and extremism, Xinjiang has taken a series of measures, including establishing laws and regulations, and launching effective counter-terrorism operations.

According to media reports found by the Global Times, the Xinjiang region launched a special counter-terrorism campaign in May 2014.

Authorities have cracked down on 1,588 terrorist groups, and 12,995 terrorists and 2,052 explosive materials had been seized in Xinjiang since 2014, read a white paper on regional work on counter-terrorism, de-extremism and human rights protection in March.

By Liu Xin and Fan Lingzhi

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