Delegates to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Zuliyati Simayi, Ting Bater and Yang Ning (from L to R), attend an interview at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China on October 16, 2022. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
People of all ethnic groups enjoy a happy life of security, stability, development and progress in Xinjiang, a region that has experienced great changes in the past decade, a delegate to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) from Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said on Sunday.
Zuliyati Simayi, vice president of the Kashi University, who has been to UN multiple times to tell the world about the real Xinjiang, gave the remarks during an interview at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The 20th CPC National Congress opened Sunday.
Over the past decade, the annual GDP of Xinjiang has doubled, the per capita disposable income has seen similar growth with both hitting record highs. People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang enjoy a happy life of security, stability, development and progress on an equal footing, Zuliyati introduced to the public.
Zuliyati said she just came back from Geneva where she attended the UN human rights council meeting. She said these numbers she mentioned above may seem abstract but as a person who was born and lives in Xinjiang, she could feel the real changes in the region.
As a scholar, she has witnessed how the higher education in Xinjiang has progressed. Zuliyati said that in recent years, more and more students from Xinjiang have gone out to study, and at the same time, more students from other regions have come to Xinjiang to finish their studies.
"Students from different ethnic groups can study and live together and enjoy themselves. If you visit any of the canteens at Kashi university, you would taste cuisines frommany ethnic groups, " Zuliyati said.
With unique advantages in resources, industry, geography and culture, Xinjiang has become an important logistics center and talent distribution center in the Belt and RoadInitiative, she said.
Zuliyati also shared a story of a Uygur girl from Aksu Prefecture.
The girl studied embroidery at a local vocational school after graduating from junior high school and then apprenticed in a garment factory in Urumqi. Now the girl has returned to her hometown and started her own embroidery factory with the support of Party and state in terms of funds and technology, leading more local women to join the career.
"There are many stories like this. I welcome you to see the real Xinjiang. I also believe that Xinjiang will have a better future," Zuliyati said.
Global Times
