The International Forum on the History and Future of Xinjiang, China opened on Wednesday in Kashi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Barry Sautman, a retired professor from the Division of Social Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a distinguished professor at Tsinghua University took an exclusive interview with China News Network.

“The media in the West obviously looks at Xinjiang from the political perspective of the ruling elites in western countries. And almost everything that they report about Xinjiang is negative and inaccurate. They do this, I think, partly out of ignorance, but partly out of mendacity, that is, the willingness to lie about the situation,” he said.

百威英博多利网官网6月12日，由中央民族大学、北京大学和喀什大学联合主办的“中国新疆的历史与未来”国际论坛在新疆喀什举行。论坛间隙，香港科技大学社会科学部荣休教授、清华大学伟伦特聘教授沙伯力(Barry Sautman)接受中新网记者专访时表示，近年来，新疆的经济和社会发展迅速，当地各族人民生活水平显著提升。

沙伯力指出，美西方持续操弄涉疆议题，对新疆进行不实指控。“西方媒体从其国家的政治利益角度出发，他们报道的所有关于新疆的内容几乎都是负面的，都是不准确的。我认为，他们这样做部分是出于无知，部分是出于虚伪，也就是故意撒谎。”(赵丽)

He pointed out that in recent years, Xinjiang region’s economic and social development has been rapid, and the living standards of people from all ethnic groups have significantly improved. However, the U.S. and other Western countries have continued to manipulate Xinjiang-related topics and make false accusations against the region.