Soundbites

Editor's note: The State Council Information Office held a group interview on Friday, bringing together representatives of grassroots cadres to engage with the media around the theme of fostering unity and progress and rallying the strength to forge ahead.

Exchanges between Xizang and other parts of China have never ceased throughout history. Since Xizang classes were launched in schools in inland China in 1984, they have educated a total of 180,000 outstanding students. Many of them have become key professionals and leading contributors across different sectors in Xizang. Some Western media outlets have described the voluntary movement and integrated residence of people as "forced relocation" of ethnic minorities. This is a deliberate distortion and an absurd claim.

Tsering Thar, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Xizang Autonomous Regional Committee

All preschool-age children in our town now attend our kindergarten. Our county is a typical multiethnic area in Kashgar, and children from several ethnic groups attend our kindergarten. During Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Corban Festival and Roza Festival, we invite parents to join more than 500 children in themed activities. Through stories about these festivals, children and their families experience and appreciate the traditions of different cultures.

Aimilaguli Abudu, deputy Party secretary of Tongmeng Kindergarten in Bachu county, Kashgar prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region

Wushi is home to six ethnic groups — Han, Tu, Tibetan, Hui, Manchu and Mongolian residents. In everyday life, the communities have long been closely interwoven and inseparable. The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law provides for integrated development among different ethnic groups. By connecting legal education with real-life situations, we hope villagers will gain a better understanding of the law and become more committed to ethnic unity.

Li Yongren, deputy secretary of the CPC Wushi Town Committee of Huzhu Tu autonomous county, Qinghai province

Baohan is a relatively small community, but it is home to more than 4,000 permanent residents from over 30 ethnic groups, including Han, Uygur and Hui people. It is a typical integrated multiethnic community. In recent years, an increasing number of people from Xinjiang, Qinghai and other regions have settled here. As many residents' businesses developed, they bought homes, registered as local residents and became long-term members of the Baohan community.

Wu Suiling, Party secretary of Baohan community of Dengfeng subdistrict in Guangzhou, Guangdong province

Darhan Muminggan Joint Banner has a permanent population of 110,000. Around 19,000 residents belong to ethnic minority groups, and more than 30 ethnic groups, including Han, Mongolian and Hui people, live here. In recent years, officials and residents of all ethnic groups have supported one another and worked together, contributing to ethnic unity and local development. Safeguarding and developing the border areas are responsibilities we cannot avoid.

Huang Long, deputy secretary of the CPC Darhan Muminggan Joint Banner Committee of Baotou city, Inner Mongolia autonomous region

Some Western media outlets have claimed that the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law will weaken the cultures of ethnic minority groups. Such claims are entirely wrong. Nujiang currently has 11 protection zones for traditional ethnic cultures, 21 areas known for their song and dance traditions and 354 items of intangible cultural heritage. Authentic ethnic cultures have been preserved and passed down particularly well here.

Li Xuetao, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefectural Committee, Yunnan province