CAIRO, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- "The quality of life and the peaceful atmosphere I witnessed in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region bespeak its economic development and social stability," an advisor of Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MENA) told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Amged Shawky, advisor to MENA's chairman for the English news services, paid his first visit to Xinjiang in October to attend the sixth World Media Summit in Urumqi, the region's capital. "During my visit, I was deeply impressed by the clean and orderly city and the friendliness and harmony among its dwellers," he said.
The atmosphere of harmony and mutual understanding among different ethnic groups in Xinjiang is "appealing to everyone," he added, noting the Western reports on the region "have proven false."
He highlighted the government's efforts to provide places of worship for Muslims in the region. Touring the large Xinjiang Islamic Institute, a religious college that trains over 1,000 students, Shawky was impressed by its well-equipped facilities, including classrooms, dormitories and a library stocked with books across various fields, as well as the services it provides.
Shawky stressed that baseless Western rumors about Xinjiang "will not affect the image of China in our minds."
He also spoke highly of the significant efforts made by Chinese authorities to develop Xinjiang's infrastructure as part of China's poverty reduction strategy, which eliminated absolute poverty in the region by late 2020.
The total mileage of roads in the region exceeded 220,000 km in 2023, including over 7,700 km of expressways. Meanwhile, its number of civil airports in operation reached 25 in 2023, topping China's provincial-level regions. As Xinjiang plans to open more airports and ports of entry, it will further boost the region's economic and social development, Shawky said.
Shawky blamed some Western organizations and major media outlets for creating media illusions to serve their political agendas. Some in the West have consistently attempted to interfere in China's domestic affairs, as they have done with other countries, he said.
However, the Chinese government has addressed the situation wisely, successfully maintaining stability in Xinjiang and thwarting Western attempts to destabilize the region, he said. ■
