Speakers at a dialogue on China’s Xinjiang Policy stressed for strengthening the policy communication, promote people-to-people connections and trade cooperation between Pakistan and China to resolve all issues.
They expressed these views while addressing the dialogue organized by China Study Centre of COMSATS University here on Wednesday.
The programme started with the recitation of verses from Holy Qur’an followed by national anthems of the countries sung by the students of PEAK School, Rawalpindi.
The inaugural session started with the welcome address of Prof. Dr Shams ul Qamar, Campus Director of COMSATS University Islamabad, who welcomed all the speakers and discussants to the dialogue while thanking the Chinese Embassy for their assistance in arranging such events.
He said that Pak-China friendship was embedded deeply in the roots of both the countries.
Dr Shams gave a brief introduction about the CUI faculty and alumni who are working closely with the Chinese academia and seeking education from the leading Chinese universities.
Wang Shengjie, First Secretary, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China talked about the beauty and cultural prosperity of Xinjiang by calling it a wonderful land.
He mentioned some of the quotes of Moin-ul-Haque, Mushahid Hussain Syed and Zafar-ud-din Mahmood where they described Xinjiang as a land of beauty and peace that accounts for 25% increase of Uyghur population between 2010 and 2018.
Addressing the session, Group Captain (Rtd.) Sultan M. Hali, Defence Analyst, said that Xinjiang was in a very poor condition in 1974 but it was much more beautiful and prosperous than even New York at present times.
The GDP of Xinjiang had been recorded as 1.38 trillion in 2020 with major high speed rails projects and more than 21 airports, he added.
Muhammad Nasir Khan, President, Ex Chinese Association, Pakistan, mentioned fast economic development as the secret of Xinjiang and China’s success.
He said that the Chinese government paid a lot of attention towards the development of Xinjiang and worked out several measures for bringing economic prosperity.
Khan mentioned that the rights of all the ethnic groups in Xinjiang including Muslims were well protected by the government and there had been a sharp decrease in the terrorist attacks after 2016.
Prof. Dr Tsui Yenhu, Professor of Social Anthropology, Institute of Social-Cultural Anthropology, Urumqi, Xinjiang, also spoke on the occasion by joining the session via a video link from China.
Later, the second session, which was the dialogue about China’s Xinjiang Policy, was moderated by Dr Tahir Mumtaz Awan, Head of China Study Centre.
Dr Shabana Fayyaz, Chairperson, Department of Defense and Strategic Studies, Quaid-e-Azam University, considered academia as the important player to properly showcase the reality in front of the people by reducing the gap between researcher and the main stream researcher.
She briefly explained the developmental projects initiated by China in Xinjiang including poverty alleviation, providing fishing and shipping rights, and education and vocational training to the people.
Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, CEO, Asian Institute of Eco-Civilization Research and Development, regarded understanding China’s policy and their economic model to deal with them in a better manner.
Hina Naveed, Researcher, Overseas Chinese Association, mentioned that they had initiated a separate desk to study the matter of Xinjiang and its people.
The discussion wrapped up with question answer session and the distribution of souvenirs among the participants and the keynote speakers.
The programme concluded with the performances inspired by Xinjiang culture and a Qawali night.
