Xinjiang Authorities Strengthen Controls Over Religion

June 24, 2009

Local governments in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) reported throughout early 2009 on measures to strengthen control over religious activity. Measures include carrying out a campaign aimed at "weakening religious consciousness," implementing rules to expel religious leaders for missing political study classes, monitoring students' activities during school vacations, and holding open trials to punish "illegal religious activity" and demonstrate its consequences to the public. (See below for more details). The reports indicate a continuing trend in heightened repression over religion in the region, which according to official statistics has a majority Muslim population.

Local governments in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) reported throughout early 2009 on measures to strengthen control over religious activity. Measures include carrying out a campaign aimed at "weakening religious consciousness," implementing rules to expel religious leaders for missing political study classes, monitoring students' activities during school vacations, and holding open trials to punish "illegal religious activity" and demonstrate its consequences to the public. (See below for more details). The reports indicate a continuing trend in heightened repression over religion in the region, which according to official statistics has a majority Muslim population. The measures also form part of broader efforts in the XUAR to strengthen security and guard against perceived threats to stability. The XUAR government identifies "religious extremism" and "illegal religious activity" as key threats to the region. (See the Congressional-Executive Commission on China 2008 Annual Report for additional details.) The tightened controls follow heightened security measures in the XUAR implemented in 2008 amid preparations for the Olympic Games, intensified anti-terrorism campaigns in the region, and in response to protests among Uyghurs and Tibetans in China. Authorities continued to enforce harsh security measures and implemented widespread ideological campaigns throughout fall 2008 and into 2009. The steps to tighten control over religion also come as authorities have launched a third round of political training for "patriotic religious personnel" in an effort to enforce the notion that "stability is above all else" and to bolster support for policies on stability and economic development. According to a February 26 report from the Xinjiang Daily, the XUAR government will carry out training for 29,000 religious figures between 2009 and 2012. In a September 2008 speech, Nur Bekri announced plans to launch this training in 2009 and said it would be directed at Muslim religious personnel, according to a copy of the speech posted September 11 on Tianshan Net. Previous training has reached 43,700 participants--the figure refers to renci, which includes the possibility of repeat participants represented in this figure--in two rounds of sessions launched since 2001, according to the Xinjiang Daily report.

Recently reported measures by local governments to strengthen religious controls include:

Tightened Controls in Hoten

The Hoten district government announced plans to strengthen measures to deal with "illegal religious activities," according to a February 27 report on the Hoten Peace Net. The report described five measures:

  • Strengthening leadership and deployment of work on religion, including through the establishment of leading groups on "illegal religious activity," the use of accountability systems among officials, and through strengthened supervision over government work in this area.
  • Increasing warnings against "illegal religious activity" and increasing propaganda on issues such as Communist Party policy toward religion and the nature of the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism, and extremism; using media like art and broadcast communications to spread propaganda and using artistic performances and recreational activities to weaken religious atmospheres; and carrying out activities such as events for people to sign their names to show resistance to "illegal religious activities."
  • Deepening capacity to investigate and detect "illegal religious activity," including by mobilizing the support of local organizations and schools.
  • "Strengthening management and purifying the environment" through five steps: strengthening management of religious activities; strengthening oversight of students during vacation periods through a system of both fixed and unscheduled contact with students; strengthening the management of the "cultural market," an activity that has been tied to censorship campaigns in the region; strengthening "inspection and control" over floating populations; and strengthening capacity for management.
  • Stopping violations of the law and attacking crimes through measures including: carrying out public education and punishment of participants in "illegal religious activities"; penalizing and holding accountable heads of households, religious leaders, and other responsible people for the acts of students in "illegal" scripture classes; and holding open arrests and trials at the sites of illegal activity to send a message to the public about the consequences of such activity.

A March 4 report from the Xinjiang Peace Net reported positively on the Hoten district government's work to control "illegal religious activities," noting that authorities had already investigated and prosecuted "illegal religious activities," and had found large amounts of "illegal propaganda materials such as books, handwritten texts, CDs, and tapes," as well as ammunition and explosives. (A less detailed mention of this is also in the February 27 Xinjiang Peace Net report.) The March 4 report did not provide additional details on what made the religious activities and publications illegal nor on how the ammunition and explosives were related to religious activity. (For an example of how some "illegal religious activity" may be defined, see a question-and-answer sheet used in anti-separatism reeducation, dated November 12 from the Kelpin (Keping) county, Aqsu district, government Web site, available as a cached page, and a document providing a regional government definition of 23 kinds of illegal religious activity posted February 2, 2008, on the Chinggil (Qinghe) county, Altay district, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture government Web site.) An overseas organization reported that the campaign in Hoten has included house-to-house inspections, along with closures of unauthorized religious schools and detentions of those involved, according to a March 30 Associated Press report (via Yahoo).

Increased Oversight to Address Outstanding Problems in Yeken County

Government, Communist Party, and county Islamic Association officials in Yeken (Shache) county, Kashgar district, organized a meeting for religious figures on February 16 to address a series of "outstanding problems" within religious circles and discuss steps to deal with the management of religious affairs, according to a February 24 Xinjiang Peace Net article. "Outstanding problems" included:

  • The discovery of scripture instruction sites at mosques within the scope of a few religious leaders' jurisdiction.
  • "Illegal religious activity" extending across multiple localities.
  • The discovery of "illegal tabligh activities" and people suspected of membership in Hizb ut-Tahrir.
  • Failure to curb or report the presence of illegal propaganda.
  • Inadequate enthusiasm among some religious figures toward contributing to the development of the rural economy.

The official also expressed concern about religious figures who did not participate in political education and who have a "half-baked" understanding of interpreting scripture. He called on Islamic Association officials to sharpen their sense of responsibility toward their work. In addition, the official outlined a series of measures for strengthening religious work in the county. The measures included implementing a detailed system of oversight to enforce political training among religious leaders and expelling religious leaders who miss a total of three study sessions. The official also called for using Friday prayers to convey information to worshipers on government policy on economic development, and for requiring religious leaders to report to authorities at least twice a month.

Campaign to "Weaken Religious Consciousness" Among Ethnic Minority Women and Young People in Ghulja

Authorities have launched a series of talks as part of Communist Party- and government-led propaganda education activities to "weaken religious consciousness and uphold a civilized and healthy life" among ethnic minority women and young people in Ghulja city, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, according to a March 18 report on the Fazhi Xinjiang Web site. The talks spread knowledge on legal topics such as the marriage law and thereby "weakened religious consciousness" among ethnic minority women and young people of the whole city, according to the report.

Using Intelligence Networks to Find Illegal Religious Activity in Awat

As part of steps to expand intelligence information networks in Awat county, Aqsu district, authorities have mobilized religious leaders and other groups to expand information gathering activities, according to a March 17 report on the Xinjiang Peace Net. As a result of intelligence leads, authorities have investigated and prosecuted four instances of underground scripture readings, investigated four instances of suspected participation in "illegal religious activity," and stopped one case of "religious interference into matrimony." The report also described two "masked" individuals, in a possible reference to efforts to investigate women wearing full head coverings.

Anti-Separatism Education Against Religion for Teachers in Bortala

A middle school in the Bortala Mongol Autonomous Region organized reeducation activities in the "battle against separatism" that referred to the importance of teachers refraining from participating in any religious activity, according to a January 14 report from the Xinjiang Peace Net. Past reports (1, 2) on measures directed against teachers, who are state employees, indicate such statements include teachers' activities outside of working hours.

Detaining Students Involved in "Illegal" Religious Classes in Lop and Awat Counties

XUAR public security officials reported banning three "illegal" sites of religious instruction in Lop county, Hoten district, and Awat county, Aqsu district, and detaining over 20 people involved as part of efforts to "strike hard" against the activities of the "three forces" and "cults" like Falun Gong, according to a February 3 report from the Xinhua Bingtuan Web site and a March 6 report from the Xinjiang Daily.

For more information on conditions in the XUAR, see Section IV--Xinjiang, in the CECC 2008 Annual Report.