BEIJING, Sept. 24  -- People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang lent their support to the cause of Chinese people's resistance against Japanese Aggression under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), according to a report on Xinjiang released on Thursday.

"A number of revolutionary youth, influenced by progressive ideas, actively mobilized the peoples of Xinjiang to fight against reactionary and backward forces," said the report titled "Historical Witness to Ethnic Equality, Unity and Development in Xinjiang" released by the State Council Information Office.

According to the report, after the First Opium War (1840-1842), China was gradually reduced to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, and the ethnic peoples of Xinjiang suffered oppression under the foreign aggressors, feudal forces and exploiting classes.

Founded in 1921, the CPC took as its mission "the search for a right path" to realize national independence and the liberation of the people, including the ethnic peoples of Xinjiang. In its early days, the CPC sent some of its members to Xinjiang to "carry out revolutionary work," the report said.

"The common call of history" convinced people in Xinjiang that only the CPC could save China," it said.

In September 1949, Xinjiang was liberated peacefully, thanks to the efforts made by local people of all ethnic groups.