Hostile Forces Will Not be Allowed to Redefine July 5 Xinjiang Riots: Global Times Editorial

By Global Times

Jul 05, 2021 09:51 PM

Screenshot from video posted by CGTN

On July 5, 2009, an appalling violent incident took place in Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, leaving 197 people dead, according to statistics. At least 134 of them were innocent Han Chinese indiscriminately murdered. There were also a few violent terrorists and rioters shot dead on the spot. This incident severely hit the situation in Xinjiang. It activated violent terrorist activities, and created an unprecedented urgency to crack down on terrorism and extremism in Xinjiang.

After the incident, many Western media outlets deliberately portrayed it as "ethnic conflicts," and focused on discontent of some Uygur people, adding a touch of the so-called "resistance" when reporting the incident. But they also largely mentioned violent attacks against civilians by some Uygur "protesters" on July 5, 2009. No Western government dared to publicly deny the violent nature of the incident, but they appealed to the Chinese government to practice "restraint."

Since then, the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has repeatedly spread false information, portraying the incident as the Uygur people's "peaceful demonstrations," which suffered from a "brutal crackdown." They made up a shameless lie that thousands of Uygur people were "killed" and "have gone missing" before and after the incident. The effect of propaganda by the WUC itself is very limited. But whenever Western media outlets report the Xinjiang-related issues, they primarily choose to spread the fake news of the WUC. They and the WUC essentially have formed a chain to create and spread lies about Xinjiang. The US Congress is also a key accomplice.

Out of the goodwill to heal the destruction and rebuild an environment favorable for ethnic unity, China has on many occasions avoided public opinion which seeks to recall the July 5 terrorist attacks. This makes the WUC and the Western forces that support it more rampant - they have tried every possible means to make up all kinds of absurd lies, mislead the world's understanding of the incident and distort the nature of the incident as violence and terrorism.

We will not allow Western forces to collude with "Eastern Turkistan" terrorist forces such as the WUC to reverse the case and define it as a "peaceful demonstration" suppressed by the Chinese government. The July 5 riots are a key juncture of the Xinjiang situation. The value judgment of its nature will to a large extent affect people's view of the Xinjiang situation thereafter. Is Xinjiang cracking down on terrorism and extremism or is genocide alleged by the West taking place there? The definition of the July 5 riots will influence the subsequent views of many people.

China must speak facts and the truth about the incident to let the world hear the calls of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang for peace and their opposition to violence. China should also let the world know what happened in Urumqi 12 years ago - massive killing of civilians by rioters. China's silence or low profile will be exploited by external hostile forces to make up extreme stories more viciously to turn white into black.

Xinjiang affairs have become the main battleground of public opinion between China and the US in terms of human rights. The US government is spreading the lie of "genocide" in Xinjiang, and their propaganda offensive is gradually expanding to the West. As a result, this, in the first place, has an impact on the attitude of an increasing number of US allies' parliaments. We must let facts block the attacks from the US. We should not only tell the world the truth of the July 5 riots repeatedly, but also make them aware of the many violent terrorist attacks, such as the one in Shache county, Xinjiang in 2014. With so many civilians and police officers killed in those attacks in Xinjiang, the truth must be brought to light completely.

As those Western forces are rampantly attacking China with accusations of "human rights violations" and "forced labor" in Xinjiang, let us reveal all the facts and smack them in their face, because facts are justice and power. For instance, a lot of information about the July 5 riots was shared in a press conference on Xinjiang-related issues in Beijing on Monday. This is a very powerful move. Moreover, we need to interact more with world media and let facts "go global," because that is what lies fear the most.