#Chinas #visit #Xinjiang #crackdown
Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a public visit to Xinjiang, state media reported on Friday, his first since a crackdown in the region that has seen Beijing accused of detaining over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in camps.
The United States and lawmakers in other Western countries have labeled China’s actions in Xinjiang “genocide” and imposed sanctions over alleged human rights abuses.
Beijing has denied the allegations, calling them the “lie of the century” and insisting its policies helped combat the threat of Islamic extremism.
State-run Xinhua news agency said Xi welcomed the progress made during an inspection tour of the far-west region — his first since 2014, when three people were killed in an attack that heralded the start of the mass arrest campaign three years later.
He also reportedly praised the work of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a sprawling paramilitary organization sanctioned by the United States for alleged human rights abuses.
The group has made “great strides” in reform and development, Xinhua reported, Xi said during a Wednesday trip to the region’s northern city of Shihezi.
State media footage showed Xi speaking to students and local officials, witnessing a song and dance performance, and receiving enthusiastic applause from residents in traditional dress.
The Chinese leader’s stay in Xinjiang comes after a similarly rare visit earlier this month to another formerly troubled area, Hong Kong, where authorities have cracked down on the city’s once-thriving pro-democracy movement.
It also comes ahead of a key party convention later this year, at which Xi is widely expected to break decades of Communist Party precedent and secure a third straight term at the helm of the world’s second-biggest economy.
– “Arbitrary and indiscriminate” –
Human rights activists have accused China of a wide range of abuses in Xinjiang, including mass incarceration, forced labour, forced sterilization and the destruction of Uyghur cultural and religious sites.
Beijing vehemently denies the claims, insisting the centers are professional and voluntary training institutions.
She claims the allegations are part of a conspiracy by the United States and other Western nations to slander China and stem its rise.
During a rare visit to China in May, United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet urged Beijing to avoid “arbitrary and indiscriminate” action in Xinjiang.
However, she acknowledged the damage caused by “acts of extremist violence” and declined to describe her trip as an “investigation”.
Bachelet’s remarks drew criticism from activists and former inmates, who accused her of capitulating to a Beijing-orchestrated staged tour of the region.
Social Tags:
#Chinas #visit #Xinjiang #crackdown
