On Tuesday 19 November, Friends of Socialist China held an event in London (and online) to report back on recent delegations to Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Each of the respondents shared impressions and experiences from their respective visits to the region, alongside giving cultural and historical context, and geopolitical analysis highlighting the reasons why Xinjiang in particular is at the centre of the propaganda campaign as part of the New Cold War the Western states are waging against the People’s Republic of China.
The event, which was held at the Marx Memorial Library, featured a panel discussion with David Peat (editor of Iskra Books), Ali Al-Assam (founder and secretary of the NewsSocial Cooperative), and Roger McKenzie (International Editor of the Morning Star and vice president of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament). The panel was chaired by Rashida Islam.
The first presentation, by David Peat, reported back from a commercial delegation in September 2024 arranged by China National Tourism Organisation. This trip was arranged for a large group of European travel agents to encourage international tourism in Xinjiang. Alongside historical and demographic information about the region, David highlighted the diversity of the peoples, the beautiful landscapes, the modern infrastructure and green development, and the many other charms that can be found in Xinjiang. Also discussed was China’s policy of using international and domestic tourism to support the development of regions within the country – to counteract the economic sanctions, and to promote and preserve Intangible Cultural Heritage, including of China’s 56 ethnic minorities, many of which live in the region.
Ali Al-Assam reported back from his visit in June-July 2024, as part of a political delegation. Ali’s contribution focussed on the reality of multinational society in Xinjiang – which stretches back thousands of years – with comparative comments based on his own experience of the struggle for socialism in Iraq.
Roger McKenzie, who attended the same delegation as Ali Al-Assam, gave an account of the extreme disconnect in the preconceptions of people in the West compared to his experiences of everyday life in Xinjiang. He also described the profound impact that the progress in celebrating diversity and fostering socialist internationalism had on him, particularly in relation to Xinjiang’s multicultural society.
Each of the delegates highlighted the substantial and ongoing development of the region, which is improving the livelihoods of its diverse population. It was also indicated that the continuing propaganda campaign has ultimately failed in its aim of causing destabilisation, but it had been effective in colouring the impressions of large sections of Western populations, including parts of the ‘progressive’ movement. As such, the speakers stressed that we must be vigilant with regard to ongoing and new attempts to seed division in the region, and counter the propaganda in our communities.
Embedded below is a video of the event, which was live-streamed on the Friends of Socialist China YouTube channel.
