Seeing Is Believing

By Tao Xing

Despite having visited more than 50 Chinese cities， Serik Korzhumbayev says he doesnt see himself as an old China hand.

Korzhumbayevs first encounter with China was in 2001 when he was invited to visit Beijing， Urumqi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Lanzhou in Gansu Province. From then on， he began visiting China several times each year.

“I love Beijing and have witnessed its rapid development. There have been new skyscrapers every time I visit，” Korzhumbayev， who is editor in chief of Kazakh business newspaper Delovoy Kazakhstan， told Beijing Review. “I also enjoy the modernity of Shanghai and the natural environment of Sichuan Province.”

Book about Xinjiang

Korzhumbayev has been to Xinjiang many times and knows the region intimately. During a trip in 2019， he and several journalists from Southeast Asian countries， including Singapore and Malaysia， saw examples of development and visited an exhibition on Xinjiangs fight against terrorism. After the journey， he wrote a long report recording his findings. “Using this kind of media activity to show the real Xinjiang to the world is a good way to respond to Western lies，” he said.

Korzhumbayev is leading a project to translate a book titled Lies and Truth on Xinjiang from Chinese to Kazakh. It is a compilation of interviews， investigative reports and commentaries by reporters and commentators working for the Chinese newspaper Global Times， resulting from their visits to the region， which is located in northwest China.

According to an introduction to the book on the Amazon website， the current situation in Xinjiang holds up a mirror to the Western medias claims of objectivity and fairness， and the book clarifies and magnifies this mirror image.

“Many of my colleagues have read the book and it has received very positive feedback. These kinds of books should be introduced not only in Kazakhstan， but also elsewhere，” Korzhumbayev said.

The Kazakh edition of the book will be sold in bookstores and be sent to universities and research institutes throughout Kazakhstan. Korzhumbayev believes these efforts will ensure that young people have the opportunity to read it， and that it can be used for research and study purposes.

“There is a lot of fake news published on the Internet， including on Kazakhstans websites， that can negatively impact young peoples understanding of Xinjiang，” he said. “This book， which is based on first-hand sources and materials， can help Kazakh youths distinguish the truth from the bias and lies in the Western media.”