Speaking at a two-day work conference on Xinjiang that ended on Saturday, Xi said China’s Xinjiang strategy is “correct and should be followed in the long run.”
Xi added, “The implementation of Xinjiang’s strategy should be considered as a political task by the whole party and hard work should be done to implement it fully and accurately to ensure that Xinjiang’s work is always maintained in the right political direction.”
“We must also continue the direction of teaching Islam for the healthy development of the religion,” Shea said. The Chinese leader added that “Xinjiang’s story needs to be told in a multi-level, holistic and three-dimensional way, and it is necessary to confidently promote Xinjiang’s excellent social stability.”
Even before the mass detention policy, Muslims in Xinjiang faced increasing restrictions on practicing their religion, ranging from wearing a veil or raising their wings to force them not to fast during Ramadan.
Xi claimed that the current policies in Xinjiang have brought “unprecedented achievements” in economic development, social development and improvement in people’s livelihoods. He added that “there has been a steady increase in the sense of benefit, happiness and security among people of all ethnic groups.”
His remarks come amid growing condemnation from Western countries, including the United States, over alleged human rights abuses in the region. Last week, U.S. delegates overwhelmingly approved a bill called the “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act,” aimed at banning certain imports from Xinjiang and imposing sanctions on those responsible for human rights abuses in the region.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly this month, French President Emmanuel Macron called for an official inquiry into Xinjiang.
The birth rate in the region has dropped from 15.88 per 1,000 people in 2017 to 10.69 per 1,000 in 2018, the Xinjiang government said in a statement to CNN. The statement said the reduction was “due to the widespread implementation of the family plan” policy. “
CNN Former interns who spoke with confirmed having obtained sterilizations by force or being awake. Many other Witnesses have spoken of widespread abuse and forced insults in the camps.
CNN’s Beijing bureau, Evan Watson, Rebecca Wright and Ben Westcott contributed to the reporting.
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