People watch performance during a fair in preparation for the upcoming Spring Festival at the Xinjiang International Convention and Exhibition Center in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Jan. 27, 2024. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

As Chinese people begin to enjoy the Spring Festival holidays, some Western media didn't forget to smear China on this joyful occasion. The fact that a festival gala can trigger malicious associations with China's policy in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region shows that the distorted mentality of "opposing China whenever it comes to Xinjiang" is deep-rooted in some anti-China forces in the West.

On January 4, it was announced that Kashi, a city in Xinjiang, has been selected as one of the four sub-venues for this year's China Media Group Spring Festival Gala. This is the first time that Xinjiang has become a sub-venue for the program that hundreds of millions of Chinese families in and outside China will watch together on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year. Against this backdrop, an article published in the Chinese edition of Voice of America (VOA) on Wednesday questioned if China is "enhancing its ethnic assimilation again" in Xinjiang, quoting so-called Uygur activists overseas.

Giving the Spring Festival Gala negative labels shows how some malicious voices in Western public opinion are distorting facts and making far-fetched assumptions on Xinjiang-related issues. In fact, if one visits China or asks people of all ethnic groups across the country, they can witness or hear such a scene: everyone is immersed in the festive atmosphere everywhere in China. Since Kashi was announced as a sub-venue for the Spring Festival Gala, people in Kashi and other parts of Xinjiang have been carefully preparing for this much-anticipated cultural feast and eagerly looking forward to it.

In recent years, setting up sub-venues has become a tradition for the Spring Festival Gala to demonstrate the blossoming folk culture of different places during the holidays in a country as vast and diverse as China. In almost every year's Gala, elements of ethnic minorities can be found, and this year will be no exception. Contrary to the hype in some Western media, this precisely shows that China is doing better and better in respecting and protecting the cultural diversity of ethnic minorities.


As Xinjiang's society and economy flourish, its culture is also becoming increasingly vibrant and colorful. What we see is that Xinjiang people, be what ethnic group they belong to, are enjoying various cultural activities in the region. However, some people in the West oppose whatever the Chinese government does over Xinjiang-related issues based on false assumptions. They would rather see unrest instead of peace and development in the region. In their "good wishes," Xinjiang should not prosper, but should be stuck in the blackness of underdevelopment and terrorism.

Xinjiang-related issues are an important tool for the West, especially the US, to discredit China. By quoting the false statements of anti-Chinese forces, using sensational news headlines, and putting ideology over faithful reports, the Western media is misleading its audience and spreading disinformation. VOA, one of the vanguards of anti-Chinese forces in the West, is not really concerned about the development in Xinjiang - it only tries to stir up ethnic conflicts in China and gain more clicks by relentlessly hyping Xinjiang-related issues.

The deliberate politicization and hype on Kashi becoming a sub-venue for the Spring Festival Gala proves that these Western forces are at their wit's end in smearing China. In recent years, Western media has tried to find faults in the region's development by spreading lies, such as "genocide" and "forced labor." However, these accusations have been proven unfounded, which will also be the fate of whatever new hypes over Xinjiang-related issues Western media creates in the future.

The Spring Festival, as well as the Gala, has gained increasing global attention. This year, through the screen, people both from China and the world will see the splendid development achievements in Kashi and Xinjiang. This year's Spring Festival Gala will present the real Xinjiang - a Xinjiang full of liveliness and vigor. And for those Western forces attempting to smear China by playing the "Xinjiang card," there is no better New Year gift than the scene of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang enjoying the Spring Festival.