Beijing says it welcomes UN officials to visit Xinjiang

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Monday the country welcomes United Nations officials to visit its northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region under the precondition that they follow Chinese laws and relevant procedures.

"Xinjiang is an open region," Lu said at a regular press briefing, adding that UN officials or experts or any other personnel should strictly adhere to the principles and purposes of the UN Charter when visiting Xinjiang.

They should avoid interfering in the country's internal affairs or harming its sovereignty, he stressed, urging those visiting Xinjiang to be "objective and impartial."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang attends a regular press briefing in Beijing, January 7, 2019. /Photo via Chinese Foreign Ministry

"We are willing to keep in touch with relevant UN institutions and meet them halfway," he noted.

Lu made the comments in response to a question about recent remarks by Shohrat Zakir, chairman of the Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

It was reported by Pakistan's newspaper The News International that Zakir said on Sunday that Xinjiang welcomes relevant UN experts who want to learn about the region's vocational education and training program to know ground reality in an objective and fair manner.

Flower grower Ruz and his wife Tajinisa weigh rose petals used for making rose sauce at a village in Hotan, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 6, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

"We will welcome any of the UN experts to visit Xinjiang to know the real situation and we hope their comments will be based on facts and ground realities," he told a group of foreign journalists visiting Xinjiang.

During an interview with reporters of Xinhua News Agency last year, Zakir said Xinjiang had launched the vocational education and training program to get rid of the environment and soil that breeds terrorism and religious extremism and stop violent terrorist activities from happening.

Xinjiang vocational training centers help women gain respect and self-reliance

"Today, despite the significant progress Xinjiang has made, countering terrorism and extremism is still a long-standing, complicated and serious issue and calls for high alert," he stressed.

Elaborating on the content of the program, he said: "Trainees will advance from learning the country's common language to learning legal knowledge and vocational skills."

(Cover: Photo taken on October 9, 2018 shows a night view of Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. /Xinhua Photo)