Top Communist Party official of China’s Xinjiang’s said on Thursday that the “Sinicisation” of Islam in the region in northwestern China is inevitable.
“Everyone knows that Islam in Xinjiang needs to be Sinicised, this is an inevitable trend,” regional party chief Ma Xingrui was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly called for the “Sinicisation” of religions including Islam, Buddhism and Christianity, urging followers to pledge loyalty to the Communist Party above all else.
Ma and other regional officials also praised Xinjiang’s economic development, refuted US allegations of forced labour and cultural genocide, and tried to paint the region as open to foreign tourism and investment.Ma, who was transferred to Xinjiang in 2021, stressed the need to “coordinate security and development”.
“The three forces are still active now, but we cannot be afraid (to open up) because they exist,” said Ma, using a political slogan referring to “ethnic separatism, religious extremism and violent terrorist forces” in Xinjiang.
Beijing in 2017 had launched a security crackdown in Xinjiang after a spate of violent ethnic protests.
“We have carried out a severe crackdown on terrorist activities, promulgated and implemented anti-terrorism laws to … combat various forms of terrorism,” senior Xinjiang parliamentarian Wang Mingshan said.
