"Xi calls for the sinicization of Islam."

He stressed "social stability" during a visit to East Turkistan (Xinjiang).

Chinese President Xi Jinping made a rare visit to East Turkistan on Saturday, urging officials to "deepen the sinicization of Islam and effectively control illegal religious activities in East Turkistan, where Beijing is accused of serious rights violations.

State television channel CCTV reported that Xi, during his first visit to East Turkistan since July 2022, stressed that priority "should always be given to maintaining social stability (...) and we have to use stability to ensure development". The Chinese president was quoted as saying that "it is important to combine the development of the struggle against terrorism and separatism with the push for the normalization of work in the field of social stability and the rule of law". "During the process of modernization in accordance with sinicization, we will build Xinjiang (East Turkistan) to be beautiful, unified, harmonious, rich, and prosperous. Xi was quoted as saying:

The Chinese government has continued a years-long campaign against what it describes as terrorism and extremism in East Turkistan, arresting large numbers of Uyghurs and other Muslims, AFP reports.

Last year, a UN report spoke of possible "crimes against humanity" in East Turkistan, while the United States and other countries saw what was happening as "genocide".

China has strongly denied accusations of forced labor being imposed on Uyghurs in East Turkistan, saying that training programs, work plans, and education have helped eliminate extremism in the region.

In his speech yesterday, Xi stressed the need to enhance officials "positive propaganda and display an atmosphere of openness and self-confidence in Xinjiang (East Turkistan) (...) while refuting all forms of false public opinion and negative or harmful discussions". He also pointed to the importance of opening up the region to local and foreign tourism.

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