"COME AND VISIT XINJIANG"

Regarding Xinjiang, one of China's autonomous regions bordering Afghanistan, it used to be a channel for international terrorist forces to penetrate into China, Wang said.

Over the years, Xinjiang was hit by several thousand violent terrorist attacks, which caused hundreds of casualties among innocent people including Uygur residents, he said.

"For sure, the Chinese government must assume the responsibility of protecting people's lives and resolutely fight terrorism. Meanwhile, we have taken preventive measures in countering terrorism and achieved de-radicalization through education," Wang said.

There are similar practices in France and the United States such as de-radicalization centers and community correction systems, he said, adding that measures taken by the Chinese government are answering the call of the United Nations.

The human rights of those participating in learning and training have been fully protected, and all the trainees have graduated and acquired vocational skills. They have found jobs and are living a normal life, Wang said.

In the past three years, not a single terrorist act befell Xinjiang, as the region is peaceful and people there are living and working in harmony, he said.

Wang also noted that in the past 40 years the Uygur population in Xinjiang has more than doubled from 5.5 million to 11 million, and that there are 24,000 mosques in Xinjiang -- one for every 530 Muslims -- a higher rate than in many Muslim countries.

"Where did the 'ethnic cleansing' come from? How can there be any suppression of 'religious freedom'?" he asked. "We welcome everyone to visit Xinjiang. Seeing is believing," he said.

Over the past several years, more than 1,000 people from over 90 countries and regions had visited Xinjiang. They are from different countries and having different political viewpoints, but they all agree that what they had seen in Xinjiang is completely different from what they had heard of before, Wang said.