Published by: THE WORLD UYGHUR NETWORK NEWS October 10, 1997

Urumqi XINJIANG RIBAO, 03/25/97

Comrade Editor, I am a theoretical worker. In view of the grim situation in the fight against separatism and the new circumstances emerging there and in the spirit of the instructions of the CPC Central Committee, the leaders in the autonomous region recently said emphatically that the struggle against national separatism is not a national issue or a religious issue but that national separatism is the common enemy of the people of all nationalities. Please tell me what one should make of all that. Wang Jun [3769 6511], a reader.

Editor: We asked Wang Wenheng, a retired cadre formerly on the autonomous region"s religion commission, to answer this question.

1. National separatism violates the constitution. In the name of nationality and religion, national separatists stop at nothing to achieve the evil purpose of splitting the motherland. National separatism seriously jeopardizes the security of the lives and properties of people of all nationalities and is their common enemy. It will certainly be firmly opposed by them.

According to Article 4 of the Chinese Constitution, "Any national discrimination and oppression shall be prohibited. Conduct that damages national unity and creates national separatism shall be prohibited." Nationalist separatists wantonly trample upon the basic laws of the land, ignore the wishes of the people of all nationalities, and vainly seek to divide the motherland, destroy national unity, and subvert the leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the socialist system. To achieve their political goals, national separatists are bent on provoking incidents and engaging in violent terrorist activities unscrupulously. Their criminal conduct seriously endangers the country and the lives and properties of the people. They also jeopardize the stable and united political situation in the region and go against the fundamental interests of the people of all nationalities.

National separatist elements are wont to engaging in separatist destructive activities in the name of protecting national interests. You would think they care about the people of their own nationality. The reality is quite different. They deliberately ferment feelings of estrangement among the nationalities and stir up national animosity in order to achieve their goal of separation. National separatist elements are hostile not only to the Han people but also to the people of minority nationalities. The reason is that the vast number of people of all minority nationalities firmly protect national unity and the motherland"s unification. They staunchly support CPC leadership and the socialist system. They are also steadfastly opposed to national separatism. The reality of blood proves that national separatism is the common enemy of the people of all nationalities.

In committing acts of sabotage, national separatist elements also flaunt the banner of religion. It would seem that they do what is good for the religion they follow. Not so in fact. What they are really doing is to exploit the simple religious feelings of the masses of believers and fool people who don"t know the facts into engaging in sabotage acts that split the motherland, all in the name of religion. National separatist elements have consistently held that subversion and sabotage in Xinjiang must make use of, first, religion and, second, young people. Hence their utmost effort to exploit and control privately-run scriptures classes (points) to build up their main forces.

National separatist elements also conduct reactionary political propaganda under the cover of illegal religious instruction by, for instance, disseminating and distributing religious leaflets, books, magazines, and audio-video products which attack party leadership and the socialist system. By propagating the history of the Crusades, they incite inter-nationality hostility and whip up the kind of opinion detrimental to national unity.

2. National separatists make up only a small minority and absolutely do not represent any particular nationality. The struggle against national separatism is not a national or religious issue but a political struggle between ourselves and the enemy. It is not unusual to have a few separatists in any nationality. In all China separatists can be found in the Han nationality as well as minority nationalities. But separatism is their own personal issue but has nothing to do with the whole country. We must strictly differentiate between the tiny handful of minority separatists and the vast number of cadres and ordinary people from the nationalities involved.

Traditionally people of all nationalities in Xinjiang have lived in peace and harmony, long forming deep emotional bonds and sharing weal and woe in the process of developing Xinjiang together side by side and defending the border. What has taken shape is a new kind of socialist inter-nationality relationship based on unity, equality, and mutual aid, one that will never be destroyed by a small handful of nationalist separatists. The vast number of cadres and ordinary people in each nationality are the backbone in the struggle against national separatism.

The cadres and people know full well from personal experience that without the correct leadership of the CPC they would not have been able to stand up and liberate themselves, that without the socialist system they would not have been able to live the good life today. They have full confidence in the continuing development of the motherland"s socialist modernization. They are fully confident that the various nationalities will prosper and flourish together and have a glorious future. The criminal conduct of the national separatists in vainly trying to overthrow CPC leadership and the socialist system, destroy national unity, and damage the motherland"s unification will certainly encounter strong condemnation and firm opposition from the cadres and masses of all nationalities.

Bucking the historical trend, the tiniest minority of national separatists engage in separatist activities and clamor for independence in the name of nationality and in the guise of religion. They commit all manner of crime and regard the people of all nationalities as enemy, even using violent terrorist tactics which endanger the lives and properties of the people of all nationalities. This is no longer a nationality or religion issue, but a life-or-death political struggle between splitting up the motherland and destroying national unity, on the one hand, and protecting the unification of the motherland and national unity, on the other.

We must fully appreciate the long-term, arduous, and complex nature of the struggle against national separatism, implement the party"s policies on the nationalities and religion correctly and comprehensively, continue to hold high the banner of great unity among all nationalities, and unite and rely on as many people from all nationalities as possible to form a broad-based united front. We must isolate and attack national separatist forces to the greatest extent possible and consolidate and develop ceaselessly the new type of socialist inter-nationality relations based on unity, equality, mutual aid, and friendship, thereby setting the stage for the successful execution of all sorts of undertakings in Xinjiang.