The Schiller Institute Belt and Road Institute in Sweden (BRIX) and the Asian Institute of Ecocivilization Research and Development (AIERD) jointly sponsored a webinar yesterday, entitled “International Forum on Xinjiang Modernization Drive from a Global Perspective.”
Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister of Economy Dr. Abdul Latif Nazari opened the presentations, pointing out that the people of Xinjiang remained loyal to China, that China had neutralized Western propaganda on Xinjiang by uplifting the area, and carrying out economic development in the area. Education and industry were key. He also expressed his desire to replicate the Chinese Xinjiang model in Afghanistan as well, and thought that China should invest in Afghanistan in sectors of mining, infrastructure, industry, and education.
Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute, explained that the narrative about human rights violations spread by Western media about Xinjiang was false propaganda, and that delegations from the Schiller Institute had visited the region and had found no such evidence. Rather, China had lifted the region’s population from extreme poverty and had equipped them with skills to make a career. She said China was focusing on human development along with economic uplift in Xinjiang.
BRIX Vice Chairman Hussein Askary said that China’s massive development in Xinjiang served as an example for other nations. He said China had outflanked terrorist ideologues through vocational and educational programs. On charges of human rights violations against Muslims, he explained that various delegations had been sent by Muslim countries to corroborate those charges, yet they found no substantial proof. On charges of genocide, he pointed out that, as per the 2022 census, the population of Xinjiang had increased to 25.8 million, and posed the obvious question: “What kind of genocide it is where the population is increasing?”
