Chinese state media hails strides made by Xinjiang as Jinping visits it first time since crackdown
Chinese state media has hailed strides made by Xinjiang amid a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since 2014.
Six years ago, three people were killed in an attack that presaged the start of the mass detention campaign in Xinjiang three years later.
Praising the work of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), Jinping said the group had made “great progress” in reform and development.
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During a trip to the city of Shihezi in the region’s north, Jinping received rapturous applause from residents in traditional clothing and he could be seen speaking to students and local officials in state media footage.
After visiting Hong Kong on its anniversary of the British handover, Jinping visited Xinjiang ahead of a key party congress later this year.
With decades of Communist Party precedent, Jinping is expected to secure a third consecutive term at the helm of the world’s second-largest economy.
While the United States has accused China of detaining over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in camps, Beijing denies these allegations.
Insisting that its policies have helped combat the threat of Islamic extremism, China has called them the “lie of the century”.
Urging Beijing to avoid “arbitrary and indiscriminate” measures in Xinjiang, United Nations’ human rights chief Michelle Bachelet acknowledged the harm caused by “violent acts of extremism”.
(With inputs from agencies)
