Mandela analogy goes against his spirit

Some entrenched critics of China's policy in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have put forward a far-fetched analogy between Ilham Tohti, a Uygur teacher who was sentenced to life imprisonment for separatism on Tuesday, and Nelson Mandela. This displays not only a dangerous ignorance of history, but also a challenge to Mandela's spirit and China's determination to keep its 56 ethnic groups united.

By calling a separatist who incited ethnic hatred "the Chinese counterpart" of the South African anti-colonial hero, these critics demonstrated their deep-rooted belief that China has colonized Xinjiang, which has been an integral part of the country since ancient times.

Although no Western countries publicly claim that the northwestern Chinese autonomous region should be independent, some have been encouraging separatist activities in and out of the region, which accounts for one-sixth of the nation's total landmass.