Under-Secretary-General of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov recently paid a visit to Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, despite objections from some Western countries such as the US and the UK. US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan on Friday spoke by phone with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “convey deep concerns regarding Voronkov’s travel to Xinjiang” and claimed China’s counter-terrorism measures in the region amount to a “repression campaign” against Uyghur people and other Muslims.

Washington is obviously not playing a simple word game but aims to throw the Xinjiang question into its presupposed human rights-related trap and mislead the world’s public opinion on China’s efforts in counter-terrorism.

The Xinjiang question is first and foremost about counter-terrorism, otherwise human rights and stable development are like a cynical tale of a tub. For a long time, the West has smeared and attacked China over human rights issues by not only spreading but also creating slanders.

Those who attack China over the Xinjiang question have used the veneer as defenders of human rights, but in fact many of them didn’t know what has happened in Xinjiang over the past few years and some didn’t even know where Xinjiang is.

Just as diplomats and media correspondents from Muslim countries have seen in Xinjiang, the vocational education and training centers there are a helpful tryout of counter-terrorism and counter-extremism. People brainwashed by extreme thoughts can learn skills to help them return to society.

These measures protect people living in Xinjiang from the dangers of terrorism, safeguard social stability and promote economic development.

Today, Xinjiang is experiencing the best period of development in recent years. Tourists to the autonomous region sharply increased by 75 percent in 2018, while per capita disposable income of Xinjiang residents surpassed 20,000 yuan ($2,888).

Xinjiang has been hard hit by terrorism. But due to timely and effective actions, terrorism has been contained in the region. Counter-terrorism measures in the region are jointly carried out with social governance, which has strongly curbed a resurgence of terrorist activities and put efforts in cracking down on the foundation of terrorism.

The whole process has been effectively carried out on the basis of maintaining people’s stable life and making people enjoy the benefits of counter-terrorism. Hence, it is winning more and more support.

Counter-terrorism is a global challenge. The situation in Xinjiang has fundamentally improved with a large amount of work but relatively small social cost. People will realize how precious the Xinjiang experience is if they compare the region to Chechnya, Afghanistan and Syria.

Not everything is perfect in the process of enacting a large-scale fight against terrorism and extremism. When we evaluate counter-terrorism activities, we should consider their effects and costs. The US counter-terrorism tool is to go to war in Afghanistan and the Middle East at cost of a shocking number of innocent lives, which has not produced a solid effect. That’s why the US and other Western countries should learn from Xinjiang’s experience. Accusing counter-terrorism activities in Xinjiang of harming human rights is disrespecting the lives of people there. They humiliate the lofty concept of human rights.

While the West plays word games and a political game of “go” on the Xinjiang question, the region’s governments at all levels are pursuing peace, stability and prosperity for all people living there. Time will prove the achievements of China’s governance in Xinjiang.