China’s Xi, in Xinjiang, signals no change to Uyghur policy

Jul 15, 2022, 6:08 AM | Updated: 5:55 pm
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, visits ...

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, visits the community of Guyuanxiang in the Tianshan District in Urumqi in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Wednesday, July 13, 2022. (Li Xueren/Xinhua via AP)

(Li Xueren/Xinhua via AP)

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping, on a visit this week to the Xinjiang region where his government is widely accused of oppressing predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities, showed no signs of backing off policies that have come under harsh criticism from the U.S. and many European countries.

Xi stressed the full and faithful implementation of his ruling Communist Party’s approach in the region, highlighting social stability and lasting security as the overarching goals, the official Xinhua News Agency said Friday.

Under his leadership, authorities have carried out a sweeping crackdown on Xinjiang’s Uyghur and Kazakh communities following an outburst of deadly separatist violence. While no exact figure has been released, analysts say hundreds of thousands and likely a million or more people have been detained over time.

Critics have described the crackdown that placed thousands in prison-like indoctrination camps as cultural genocide. The U.S. and others have placed officials responsible under visa bans for their part in extralegal detentions, separation of families and incarcerating people for studying abroad or having foreign contacts.

Xi, on what was described as an “inspection tour” from Tuesday to Friday, said that enhanced efforts should be made to uphold the principle that Islam in China must be Chinese in orientation, Xinhua said.

While the needs of religious believers should be ensured, they should be united closely to the Communist Party and the government, the official news agency quoted him as saying.

He called for educating and guiding people of all ethnic groups to strengthen their identification with the Chinese nation, culture and Communist Party.

The Chinese leader called Xinjiang a “core area and a hub” in China’s program of building ports, railways and power stations connecting it to economies reaching from Central Asia to Eastern Europe. The U.S. has blocked some imports of cotton and other products from the region over reports of forced labor.

Xi met with leaders of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a supra-governmental body that operates its own courts, schools and health system under a military system imposed on the region after the Communist Party took power in China in 1949.

Xi “learned about the history of the XPCC in cultivating and guarding the frontier areas,” Xinhua reported.

Xinjiang borders Russia, Afghanistan and volatile Central Asia, which China has sought to draw within its orbit through economic incentives and security alliances.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


              In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, poses for a photo with performers of the Manas, a cultural epic of the Kyrgyz people, at the Museum of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Urumqi in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Wednesday, July 13, 2022. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP)
            
              In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, visits the community of Guyuanxiang in the Tianshan District in Urumqi in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Wednesday, July 13, 2022. (Yan Yan/Xinhua via AP)
            
              In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, visits the community of Guyuanxiang in the Tianshan District in Urumqi in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Wednesday, July 13, 2022. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP)
            
              In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, visits the community of Guyuanxiang in the Tianshan District in Urumqi in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Wednesday, July 13, 2022. (Li Xueren/Xinhua via AP)

AP

Haitian migrant Gerson Solay, 28, carries his daughter, Bianca, as he and his family cross into Can...
Associated Press

US, Canada to end loophole that allows asylum-seekers to move between countries

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a plan to close a loophole to an immigration agreement.
2 days ago
Expert skateboarder Di'Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and...
Associated Press

Indigenous skateboard art featured on new stamps unveiled at Phoenix skate park

The Postal Service unveiled the “Art of the Skateboard" stamps at a Phoenix skate park, featuring designs from Indigenous artists.
2 days ago
(Facebook Photo/City of San Luis, Arizona)...
Associated Press

San Luis authorities receive complaints about 911 calls going across border

Authorities in San Luis say they are receiving more complaints about 911 calls mistakenly going across the border.
8 days ago
(Pexels Photo)...
Associated Press

Daylight saving time begins in most of US this weekend

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.
16 days ago
Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Matamo...
Associated Press

How the 4 abducted Americans in Mexico were located

The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men and blindfolds.
16 days ago
Tom Brundy points to a newly built irrigation canal on one of the fields at his farm Tuesday, Feb. ...
Associated Press

Southwest farmers reluctant to idle farmland to save water

There is a growing sense that fallowing will have to be part of the solution to the increasingly desperate drought in the West.
23 days ago

Sponsored Articles

(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...
Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.
(Pexels Photo)...

Sports gambling can be fun for adults, but it’s a dangerous game for children

While adults may find that sports gambling is a way to enhance the experience with more than just fandom on the line, it can be a dangerous proposition if children get involved in the activity.
...
Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Prep the plumbing in your home just in time for the holidays

With the holidays approaching, it's important to know when your home is in need of heating and plumbing updates before more guests start to come around.
China’s Xi, in Xinjiang, signals no change to Uyghur policy