Separatism, extremism should be eliminated at all times, president says

People from different ethnic groups said the latest guidelines on ethnic affairs set out by President Xi Jinping are key in achieving equal development. They also believe that safeguarding national sovereignty will become natural behavior when people feel they are all proud members of the Chinese nation.

Mehmut Usman, director of the Ethnic Affairs Commission of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, said consolidating the sense of community of the Chinese nation is crucial to boosting ethnic unity, maintaining social stability and safeguarding national sovereignty and security.

"It will also help to unite Xinjiang people to keep the social situation of the region stable and achieve long-term peace," Mehmut said after Xi stressed key issues in ethnic affairs in the new era during the central conference on ethnic affairs held in Beijing on Friday and Saturday.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said at the conference that consolidating a sense of community is a critical element of safeguarding the fundamental interests of all ethnic groups.

Xi added that ethnic separatism and religious extremism should be eliminated at all times.

Anti-separatist and anti-extremist work is particularly important in Xinjiang as the region has always been the target of separatist and extremist forces. As a result, the region was hit by terrorist attacks for a period of time, said Wubulikasmu Memeturson, head of Awat county in Xinjiang's Aksu prefecture.

"In fact, safeguarding national sovereignty will come naturally when people from different ethnic groups feel that they are all proud members of the Chinese nation. It will then be difficult for separatist and extremist forces to brainwash people," Wubulikasmu said.

At the conference, Xi also called for promoting the use of the standard spoken and written Chinese and protecting the spoken and written languages of all ethnic groups.

Kurban Niyaz, a primary school principal in Wushi county, Aksu, said that learning standard spoken and written Chinese can help people better accomplish self-development.

"Unlike the claims from some Western anti-China forces, promoting standard spoken and written Chinese is never a move to eliminate our ethnic languages. It aims to help people from different ethnic groups become better integrated with society so they can enjoy equal development and have more opportunities in life," Kurban said.

"An ethnic group will enjoy sustainable development only when it integrates into the big family of the motherland."

At the conference, Xi also pointed out the importance of the modernization drive in ethnic-minority areas after securing victory in fighting poverty.

Daman, a village in the Tibet autonomous region on the border between China and Nepal, has been significantly modernized in recent years since the central government invested heavily in projects to improve infrastructure and housing conditions in ethnic-minority areas, said Pasang, the village head.

"The locals now can enjoy a modern life even when they live in border areas, which was unthinkable in the past. It has shown China's determination to ensure people from all ethnic groups can live a better life," Pasang said.