In an editorial published in Chinese state media Aug. 6, Zhang Chunxian, the Party secretary for the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, said the Chinese government intends to apply the same family planning policy for all ethnic groups in southern Xinjiang, including both Han Chinese and Uighur minorities. Zhang did not specify how this policy would be implemented but noted that it would aim to “lower and stabilize an appropriate birthrate” across—he reiterated—all minority ethnic groups in the region.

What Zhang’s editorial did not say is that southern Xinjiang is home to about half of China’s entire Uighur Muslim population. In fact, Uighurs make up more than 98 percent of the ethnic minority population (and 89 percent of the total population) of Kashgar, which is by far the most populous prefecture in southern Xinjiang and the site of most of China’s Uighur-related violence and unrest in recent years. In reality, this is not a policy directed at all ethnic minorities. It is a policy that specifically aims—under the rubric of an effort to rationalize the country’s family planning policy—to limit the expansion of the Uighur population.

Premium + Digital Edition

Ad-free access


P 80 per month
(billed annually at P 960)
  • Unlimited ad-free access to website articles
  • Limited offer: Subscribe today and get digital edition access for free (accessible with up to 3 devices)

TRY FREE FOR 14 DAYS
See details
See details