A white paper issued by China's State Council Information Office on Thursday lauded "great progress" in the protection of human rights of people of various ethnic groups in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
According to the white paper, titled "Human Rights in Xinjiang - Development and Progress," Xinjiang's economic and social development has entered a new historical phase since China launched its epoch-making reform and opening-up drive in 1978.
The white paper expounded on the development and progress in the region in eight parts -- political rights, civil rights, economic rights, social rights, cultural rights, environmental rights, right to freedom of religious belief and rights of women, children, the elderly and disabled.
It said that before the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, ethnic groups of Xinjiang were at the bottom of the social ladder and deprived of basic human rights.
Over the years, the Chinese central government has taken effective measures to develop the economy, improve people's living standards, enhance the well-being of the public, promote ethnic unity and progress, and safeguard the basic rights of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.
PROTECT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
Xinjiang has made efforts to protect the public's right to freedom of expression in the region, it read.
The region has created a wide range of Internet infrastructure and websites, while continuing to promote traditional media, such as radio, television, newspapers and magazines, it said.
"As a result, the citizens' right to information, right to participation, and right of scrutiny are guaranteed," the white paper said.
It said the number of netizens in Xinjiang rose from 448,000 in 2002 to 12,960,000 by the end of 2016. This growth rate ranked third in China, with a rate of penetration of 54.9 percent, which ranked first in the western region.
According to the white paper, over 40 percent of the civil servants in Xinjiang are of ethnic minority origins in 2016.
There were 91,076 ethnic minority civil servants in Xinjiang in 2016. More than 66 percent of them were women, it said.
The figure represented a huge increase from just about 3,000 in 1950, it said. In 1955, some 46,000 civil service officials were of ethnic minority origins.
