Chinese officials are planning a propaganda campaign to fight against separatism in the Xinjiang region, which is home to the country's Muslim Uighur people.

From Reuters:

" … Wang Lequan, the hardline Communist Party boss, told officials that a sweeping propaganda campaign was needed to fight separatism in Xinjiang, where mostly Muslim Uighurs have bucked at Chinese influence and religious controls, the Xinjiang Daily reported on Wednesday …

" … The re-education campaign will seek to enhance "identification with the Chinese nation and Chinese culture", Wang said, promising measures to spread teaching in Mandarin Chinese among Uighur children …"

Religious crackdown

This follows the recent news that authorities have launched a religious crackdown in Xinjiang during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.

The restrictions, which reportedly vary from area to area, include a ban on government officials, Communist Party members, teachers and students observing Ramadan, a prohibition on the distribution of religious materials, and an order for men to shave off beards and women to remove veils.

From the Guardian:

" …Religious controls are usually stricter during Ramadan but experts say this year's are noticeably stronger and believe it is the first time they have been published rather than passed on orally …"

Systematic abuse

Amnesty International believes, the Uighur have been the target of systematic human rights violations since the 1980s. That has included imprisonment, arbitrary and incommunicado detention, violence and killings. They have also faced severe restrictions on their religious freedom and their social and cultural rights.

Recently, China – which took over the area in 1949 – has exploited the international "war on terror" to suppress the Uighur, labelling them terrorists, separatists and religious extremists.

Uighur people are the only known group to be executed in China for political crimes.