URUMQI: In the southern part of Xinjiang Uygur Autono-mous Region, a key battlefield in the fight against terrorism and extremism in China, extremist ideas once strongly influenced people’s minds, particularly prior to 2016. Deceived and manipulated by extremists, local residents were not able to live a normal life. “Those plagued by extremist ideas wouldn’t hold banquets for weddings. They wouldn’t sing or dance; at funerals, some wouldn’t even cry,” Mahmut Saidil, a former village head in Aksu Prefecture in south Xinjiang, told Beijing Review. Many people there fell prey to extremist thoughts because of poverty. According to the Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism published by the United Nations, the absence of alternative employment opportunities can make violent extremist organizations an attractive source of income.
Vocational education has played a key role in extricating locals from the haunts of extremism and terrorism by supplying the labor market with skilled workers and hence driving economic and social development.
After Xinjiang’s rural areas shook off poverty in 2020, the next goal is to boost sustainable development. The region, alongside other parts of China, continues to consolidate poverty alleviation outcomes, promote all-round progress, and strengthen assistance to low-income rural residents on a regular basis.
– The Daily Mail-Beijing Review News exchange item
