A senior discipline official in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region warned Tuesday that some Party members in the region are being swayed by the growing influence of pan-Islamism and pan-Turkism. In an article, Xu Hairong, head of Xinjiang's Commission for Discipline Inspection, wrote that these Communist Party of China (CPC) members were abandoning their belief in communism.

He  disclosed that some of them, under the cover of being responsible public servants, have even participated in terrorist activities.

The number of CPC members in Xinjiang has been growing. As of late 2014, there were 1.45 million Party members in the westernmost region, an increase of 21,000 from 2013.

Since CPC members, especially those in government positions, are the elite group that administers the region, whether they can stick firmly to Party ideology is of paramount significance to the stability and effectiveness of governance.

It is possible that the rampancy of terrorist and extreme ideologies can infiltrate the governing elite of Xinjiang, a region painfully haunted by terrorism, separatism and extremism, to enfeeble minds and recruit followers.

Xu stresses that Party discipline should be given an absolute priority to educate and regulate Party members. In the case of Xinjiang, Party members must prioritize ethnic unity as the focal point of their work.

Earlier this month, Zhao Xinwei, editor-in-chief of the Xinjiang Daily, was expelled from the Party as he had made "groundless remarks" on some major decisions. It was found that his deeds and words were not in accordance with the central and local governments on significant issues, including ethnic separatism, terrorism and religious extremism.

Party discipline is the first parameter that pushes Party members to fulfill their pledges when joining the Party. Xinjiang faces terror threats, both physical and ideological, and it must fall to the governing group, mostly Party members, to steer the region out of the mire of terrorism, extremism and separatism. Party discipline cannot be overemphasized in this regard. Through a different lens, Xinjiang's efforts to fight terrorism do raise controversy. The regional administration has been misunderstood, either vilely or out of ignorance, by foreign media and international public opinion who contend that the anti-terrorism campaign is a crackdown on Uyghurs.

These misconceptions turn a blind eye to the continuous focus on ethnic unity by the ruling Party. Tensions raised in the region due to terrorism are not the equivalent of the alleged ethnic tension. Ethnic unity is always the mainstream ideal for the Party and government.