China launches propaganda drive against "extremism" in far west

Feb 15, 2012, 12:06 GMT

Beijing - China launched a propaganda campaign against illegal religious activities and 'religious extremism' in the restive far western region of Xinjiang on Wednesday, state media said.

Regional authorities began holding public lectures to 'rally mass support for the government's religious policies and to discourage illegal religious activities,' the official Xinhua news agency said.

The agency said the lectures would take place in every village and residential area in Xinjiang this year, but it did not say if the government would compel local residents to attend the events.

The campaign followed an announcement last month that 8,000 extra police would be deployed in villages across the region to fight religious extremism, separatism and terrorism.

A regional official was quoted as saying the propaganda campaign aimed to promote 'social harmony, patriotism and ethnic unity,' and rally support for regional development.

Officials would use the lectures to expound state policies on religion and the 'danger of illegal religious activities.'

'Lecturers from religious circles will advocate proper dress codes, patriotism and efforts to promote peace and discourage violence,' the agency quoted local officials as saying.

It said 'incidents of religious extremism' had risen in Xinjiang, where the mainly Muslim Uighur minority 'traditionally practice a moderate form of Islam.'

The agency said earlier that a regional security chief last month urged vigilance against terrorism in the run-up to a key national congress, expected to be held in November, that will approve a party leadership change.

Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, and other areas of Xinjiang have remained tense since protests by Uighurs escalated into rioting that left about 200 people dead and 1,700 injured in the city in July 2009.

The government has reported several terrorist attacks that killed dozens of people in Xinjiang in the past few years.

But exile groups have accused China of using the global fight against terrorism as an excuse to suppress political and religious activity among Uighurs, some of whom seek independence.

In its annual human rights report on China in April, the US State Department said the government 'continued it severe cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang' and in China's Tibetan areas.

Uighurs make up about 40 per cent of Xinjiang's population of 20 million.

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