China’s new campaign to instil official historical narrative in Xinjiang
Officials at high-level meeting told to address ‘several historical issues’ regarding the restive region through propaganda and training
China’s far western Xinjiang is set to roll out an ideological campaign to instil the official Communist Party narrative of the region’s history in its officials, religious leaders and the masses.
Yu Zhengsheng, the party’s fourth-ranking official who is in charge of religion and ethnic minorities, presided at a high-level meeting in Beijing this week to address “several historical issues” regarding the restive region, official news agency Xinhua reported.
The two-day meeting, which ended on Wednesday, made clear the party’s stance on these issues to address the “long-standing and deep-seated” ideological problems in Xinjiang, according to Xinhua.
“[We should] eliminate the influence of incorrect ideas about Xinjiang’s history, culture, ethnicities, religions and other aspects,” the report quoted Yu as saying. He went on to stress the party’s efforts to win public trust and fight separatism.
Yu also urged local governments in Xinjiang to step up propaganda activities to promote the key points of the meeting to the public, and to improve training of party cadres, intellectuals and religious leaders.