Situation in Xinjiang stable: region chairman

Shohrat Zakir (second from right), chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, attends a panel discussion on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress, on March 12, 2019. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region hasn't experienced any terrorist attacks in 27 months, and the public have felt the benefits brought by this stability, Shohrat Zakir, chairman of the region, said Tuesday.

For a period of time violent terrorist attacks frequently rocked the region. Since then the region has adopted a series of measures to maintain social stability, which and have proven effective, he said.

The situation in Xinjiang is under control, he said, when answering a China Daily reporter's question on social stability during a panel discussion on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

"The measures to fight terrorism and religious extremism have never targeted particular ethnic groups or religions like some people in other countries claimed," Shohrat said during the session, which was open to media.

Thanks to a stable social environment, the region received more than 150 million visits from tourists in 2018, up more than 40 percent year-on-year, he added.

Shohrat said the vocational education training centers in Xinjiang are not "concentration camps", as portrayed by some media reports.

The claim that trainees' freedom is restricted in the center is inaccurate. The fact is that the centers are boarding schools, and trainees can go home during the weekend or ask for leave any time they need to, he said.