Ilham Tohti, a former Uyghur lecturer at Minzu University of China, was given a life sentence by the Intermediate People's Court of Urumqi on Tuesday. It raised intense reactions from the West, especially from the US, whose Secretary of State John Kerry said he is "deeply disturbed" by the conviction. Some Western media even deliberately described Tohti as China's Nelson Mandela.
Tohti's trial and conviction have given them plenty of material to challenge China in the public discourse.
However, no matter how hard they try to push these convicted dissidents onto the moral high ground, Chinese society has got used to and no longer feels so sensitive to these tricks played by the West. China knows that they always use so-called morality and justice as a shield to cover their real intentions.
This shield harbors the people who attempt to go against the Chinese rule of law, among whom there are ethnic separatists and social saboteurs.
If these people are given full freedom to undertake illegal activities as the West demands, one could not imagine how much damage they would cause to Chinese social order.
China does not pursue the same political system as the West, and history has proven that China made the right choice over its political path, compared with many other developing countries which have transplanted the Western system. Different political systems breed different laws, and as a Chinese citizen, Tohti has to observe Chinese law, by which his illegal acts shall be punished. It is none of the West's business to making carping comments.
The facts have demonstrated that Chinese rule of law is so powerful that jeering and displeasure from the West have met counteractive impacts. The West has witnessed China's growing assertiveness and strength and knows that "human rights" is no longer their trump card. They will become less determined to challenge China on this matter.
Scotland has just wrapped up a referendum over independence, and soon after, some voices at home and abroad started to call for the legitimization of separatism in China.
These irresponsible remarks concealed their ulterior motives and muddled the essential differences between Scottish independence and the Xinjiang issue. Even by instinct, we can imagine what a disaster it would be for China if it did the same as Scotland.
Chinese separatists must be fully aware of the red line drawn by the Chinese Constitution and criminal law. Tohti could serve as a lesson for them to realize what price they have to pay if they continue their dangerous pace.
These so-called dissidents had better clear their minds and see the growing difficulties if they still want to depend on the West to carry forward their advocacy. They should look at the big picture of China's rise and the improvement in China's rule of law, or a doomed failure is what awaits them.
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