Xi Jinping Inspects Xinjiang While Ignoring Outside Criticism

ABC News reports, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping visited China’s Xinjiang region, where his government is widely accused of oppressing minorities, predominantly Muslims.

It was reportedly Xi’s first visit to the area since 2014. That year, three people were killed in an attack and that triggered mass detention campaign against Uighurs and other Muslim minorities. During his visit, Xi shows no signs of backing down from his policies, which have been heavily criticized by western countries.

Instead, CCP media outlet Xinhua said on Friday that Xi stressed the need to fully and faithfully implement CCP policies in the region, emphasizing social stability and lasting security were its primary goals.

While no exact figures have been released, analysts say hundreds of thousands, if not more than a million Uyghurs, have been detained in refugee camps over time. According to an Associated Press investigation, one in 25 people in one county in Xinjiang was jailed on terrorism-related charges. This is the highest recorded imprisonment rate in the world.

Critics of the CCP Xinjiang Policy have described the crackdown of the region as cultural genocide as CCP has placed thousands of people in prison-like indoctrination camps. The United States and other countries have imposed visa bans on some CCP officials for their involvement in extrajudicial detention, family separation, and imprisonment of Uyghurs studying abroad or with foreign connections. During Xi’s “inspections” from Tuesday to Friday, he said efforts should be stepped up to uphold the principle that Islam in China must be China-oriented, Xinhua News reported.