Side by side, fight against terrorism

(People's Daily Online) 09:55, May 06, 2014

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People’s Daily unveils the genesis of the joint letter.

"After getting so much support, we are more convinced that we have done the right thing!"Mardan, one of the co-authors of the joint letter told People’s Daily on May 2 that silenceequates to condoning violence and terrorism.

In a joint letter written by eleven Uygur university students that has gone viral online,students expressed in their own words their outrage over the terrorist attack thatoccurred on April 30 in Xinjiang.

The letter was written and first published on Weibo, part of China's social media, at 5:13am on May 1, 2014. It condemned the inhuman violence of the terrorists and theirconspiracy to create panic among people from different ethnic groups, and to provokeconflict and hatred.

Mardan said that the attack happened while he was having a meal with his parents in arestaurant near the railway station. Mardan is a mechanical engineering graduate fromXinjiang University. His parents had traveled from their home to Urumqi that day to visithim. After the incident, he decided along with some friends that he would not remain silent.

"In accordance with what we have agreed, this letter is drafted up by Kurban. Others haveproposed amendments, and all have signed the joint letter." Mardan said many of thereponses and thumb-ups on weibo came from strangers. Even some of the co-authors hadnot met with each other before. But they all have one thing in common — a determinationto make their voices heard.

At first, Mardan did not tell his parents about the letter. After it went viral online, hisparents heard about it and told their son that he had done the right thing.

Hurxidan, another co-author of the letter, has received a phone call from Zhang Jianping,party committee secretary of Yuer Qixiang County. Zhang praised the action and offeredto publish a Uyghur version of the letter.

"Support from many other people makes us feel that we have done a significant thing."Hurxidan is a master's degree candidate majoring in international politics in XinjiangUniversity. He used to work as a volunteer teacher in Yuer Qixiang County in Xijiang.

The eleven students are Abudrixit and Kurban from North China University of WaterResources and Electric Power; Mardan and Hurxidan from Xinjiang University; Marlisafrom Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Ferhad from Beijing University of ChemicalTechnology; Airxit from Beijing Foreign Studies University; Emran from Shanghai ForeignStudies University; Yusuf from Shanghai University; Xuhlat from Xinjiang University ofFinance and Economics and Sikandar from Xinjiang Medical University.

The article is edited and translated from《并肩，向暴恐分子出击！

》, source: People’s Daily, author: Dai Lan and Hu Renba. Source:http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2014/0503/c1001-24967139.html

（Editor：GaoYinan、Liang Jun）