Beijing’s reshuffle of officials in Xingjiang might herald a hardening of repression against Uighurs, an academic at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research said.
Since 2018, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has replaced a slew of top officials in Xinjiang’s communist party, researcher Shih Chien-yu (侍建宇) wrote in a Nov. 9 post on the institute’s blog.
Last month, the government reshuffled three top officials of the regions’ communist party, which marks a near-total turnover of its leadership since 2018, Shih said.
Photo: Reuters
The newcomers include He Zhongyou (何忠友), who is to become the deputy secretary of the Standing Committee for the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, a position of significant power, he said.
Local party secretary Chen Quanguo (陳全國), the only leader of the old guard remaining, would likely be dismissed at the CCP’s National Congress next year, he said.
The reshuffling meant that the CCP has removed virtually every regional official who was sanctioned by the US and its allies, he said.
The move is designed to test Western resolve in imposing new sanctions, as the newcomers would almost certainly continue to carry out repressive policies, Shih said.
Although China’s governance of Xinjiang has been widely criticized by the international community for human rights abuses, the CCP believes that it has made no mistakes, he said.
Instead, it blamed local officials for their failure to represent the party’s achievements in a positive light and their lack of local knowledge as outsiders who had been appointed to the region, he said.
He, an apparatchik trained in data analysis and management at the London School of Economics and University of Massachusetts Boston, has substantial experience in China’s mass surveillance program, Shih said.
He’s professional qualifications are a fit for Xinjiang — a region fast becoming a test bed for digital surveillance technologies — and he has experience in working with foreign officials and press from previous posts, he said.
Beijing increasingly considers Xinjiang a strategic launching pad to expand China’s sphere influence, while the rise of a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan further elevates the importance of security in the region, Shih said.
These factors suggest that Beijing would continue to utilize the “high-pressure” tactics it favored to tighten its grip on Xinjiang, while employing propaganda to conceal its actions, he said.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday hosted a reception to celebrate Double Ten National Day. Conservative Canadian lawmaker Marc Dalton called Taiwan a “beacon of courage and resilience in the face of rising authoritarianism,” according to a post on the Taiwan in Vancouver Facebook page. Also in attendance were fellow conservative caucus members Tako Van Popta and Chak Au, who said that Taiwan plays an “indispensable role” in ensuring global peace, prosperity and stability due to its strategic position in the Indo-Pacific region, it said. Canadian lawmaker Michael Cooper also recorded a message wishing Taiwan a
RSS