Felix Abt | Covert Action Magazine
An on-the-ground account challenging Western propaganda
Upon landing in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (commonly known as Xinjiang), it is evident that the Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority, call this home.
As I exited the airport arrivals hall, I noticed a restaurant sign reading “EGG BOMB.” The moniker cleverly implies that Xinjiang would rather be renowned for its “food bombs” than for the explosive devices employed by the terrorists who formerly tormented the region and the rest of China.
In contrast to the U.S.’s so-called worldwide War on Terror, which has claimed countless victims among innocent civilians, the Chinese government’s strict counterterrorism measures have been the subject of massive criticism in Western media, including accusations of physical and cultural genocide. Uyghur terrorism, which once posed a real threat in Xinjiang and beyond—as documented by headlines from the Associated Press—has been almost entirely erased from Western discussions, leaving a one-sided narrative that ignores the region’s serious security challenges.
While Western media reports had painted a grim picture, my on-the-ground experience told a different story.
My journey started on the city’s modern transit system, where all signage was presented in Uyghur, Mandarin and English. At one stop, three young Uyghur women boarded and sat across from me, their curious glances and cheerful conversation a testament to the normal, everyday life that continues here. When I asked to take their photo, they responded not with suspicion, but with bright, agreeing smiles.
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