Experts share views on China's minority rights protection in Geneva

GENEVA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Experts and scholars from China and abroad shared the achievements and experiences of minority rights protection in China, focusing on the practices in Xizang Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at a seminar here on Monday.

The seminar titled "The Protection of Human Rights for Minorities: Progress in China's Ethnic Autonomous Regions" was organized by the China Society for Human Rights Studies during the 55th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council.

Liang Junyan, a researcher at the Institute of History Studies of China Tibetology Research Center, said that Tibet has been an inseparable part of China since ancient times, and the so-called "Tibetan independence" was a product of imperialist aggression against China in modern times.

Jia Chunyang, executive director of the Center for Economic and Social Security Studies of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said that educational practices in Xizang follow Chinese laws and relevant provisions of international conventions, such as the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These practices align with local realities, respect the needs of the people, and protect and promote the Tibetan language and culture.

Belgian Tibetologist Andre Lacroix shared his observations and experiences in Xizang, saying that the development of Xizang impressed him deeply. He called on Western societies to put aside inherent biases and observe and evaluate the Chinese government's achievements in governing Xizang objectively.

Qiao Basheng, director of the Center for International Communication and Cultural Security Studies of the Northwest University of Political Science and Law, said that Xinjiang is now in the best period of development in history as it is enjoying sustained social stability, with people of all ethnic groups living in harmony, contentment, and prosperity. People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, along with the rest people of the whole country, have entered a moderately prosperous society, fully enjoying tangible human rights guarantees.

Tuersun Aibai, an associate professor with the School of Journalism and Communication of Xinjiang University, said that certain Western anti-China forces use the blame of "forced labor" as a pretext to create "forced unemployment" and "forced poverty" in Xinjiang, which violates the human rights of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.