The embassy spokesperson has made the following remarks with regard to The Guardian’s recent comment that is inconsistent with the facts of China’s policy in Xinjiang:

As a country under the rule of law, China takes firm legal actions against religious extremism and terrorism, from which Xinjiang and some other Chinese regions have suffered deeply.

Facts have shown that religious extremism is the breeding ground for terrorism because it incites hatred towards “believers of other faiths or pagans”. The education and training measures taken by the local government of Xinjiang has not only effectively prevented the infiltration of extremist ideas and helped those led astray to find their way back but also provided them with employment training in order to build a better life.

The vocational training centres fully guarantee personal freedom of the trainees, who could go home regularly and ask for leave to take care of their children. If a couple are both trainees, their minor children are usually cared for by their relatives, and the local government helps take good care of the children. There are many examples around the world which show that if people infected with extremist ideas are not intervened in a timely manner, they may pass on such ideas to their children, which harms the rights and interests of children.

In Xinjiang, normal religious activities are protected by the Chinese law, and freedom of religious belief are fully respected and protected in accordance with the law.

For example, there are 24,400 mosques in Xinjiang -- more mosques per person than in many other parts of the world. Xinjiang has an average of one mosque for every 530 believers, far more than the average number of mosques for the muslim population in the UK (one mosque for more than 2,200 people).

Thanks to such policies, Xinjiang has achieved rapid development in recent years, and local people of all ethnic groups are living and working in harmony and stability. There have been no terrorist attacks in Xinjiang for 30 months. In 2017 the local GDP surpassed RMB 1 trillion -- up 7.6% and growing faster than the national GDP. Southern Xinjiang was the first in China to roll out 14-year free education. These notable achievements manifest China's successful policy in Xinjiang.