Communist Party official accuses some Xinjiang cadres of supporting 'terrorist acts'
Party discipline official says some members in the region are taking part in violent acts
A senior Xinjiang official on Tuesday questioned the loyalty of some ruling Communist Party members in the region, accusing some of supporting “terrorist acts”.
The comments are a rare admission of dissent among Xinjiang’s officials over Beijing’s policies, which have been condemned by human rights advocates as a major cause of unrest in the region.
The central government says it faces a serious threat from Islamist militants and separatists in the region, where hundreds have died in violence in recent years.
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China was in a period of heightened terrorism and fierce anti-separatist struggle, said Xu Hairong, secretary of the Xinjiang Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party’s graft watchdog in the region.
While most party officials loved Xinjiang, others criticised high-level policies and openly issued demands that went against the party, Xu said in a commentary in the agency’s official newspaper.
“Some waver on clear-cut issues of opposing ethnic division and safeguarding ethnic and national unity, and even support and participate in violent terrorist acts,” Xu said.
Rights groups and many foreign experts doubt that a cohesive militant Islamist group exists in Xinjiang, and say the violence stems from popular anger at government controls on the religion and culture of the Muslim Uygur people who live there.
Beijing vehemently denies accusations of rights abuses, though independent verification of the situation in Xinjiang is hard because of tight government controls on visits by foreign reporters.
READ MORE: Editor of Communist mouthpiece in China’s restive Xinjiang region expelled from party under graft watchdog’s new gag laws
Earlier this month, Zhao Xinwei, former editor-in-chief of the regional party mouthpiece the Xinjiang Daily, was stripped of his party membership over allegations of having “inappropriately discussed” party policies and “publicly made comments opposing Xinjiang policy and speaking and disagreeing with” regional anti-terrorist campaigns. Zhao was the first official in the country to be expelled since “inappropriate comments or challenging key policies” became a serious party discipline offence in October.
Zhao’s predecessor at the Xinjiang Daily, Alimjan Maimaitiming, an ethnic Uygur official later promoted to secretary general of the regional government, was investigated for “discipline violations”, while another Xinjiang official, Zhao Guoming, the head of poverty relief, was also deposed for “deliberately going against the party policies”.
Xu’s remarks come as Chinese leaders have pledged greater international cooperation to combat terrorism in the wake of attacks in Mali and Paris.
Additional reporting by Zhen Liu
