China's Xi Jinping says 'happiness' on rise in Uighur heartland in face of global backlash

Xi Jinping, the leader of China’s Communist Party, said policies in the country’s Xinjiang region were “completely correct” despite growing international backlash over the government’s alleged human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority in the province. "It is necessary to educate residents of Xinjiang on their understanding of the Chinese nation and to guide “all ethnic groups on establishing a correct perspective on the country, history and nationality,” Mr Xi said, according to remarks reported in Chinese state media. “We must also continue the direction of Sinicising Islam to achieve the healthy development of religion,” he said at a two-day Communist Party conference on Xinjiang this weekend. These are Mr Xi’s most public comments to date in support of China’s policies to bring Xinjiang’s primarily Muslim ethnic minority population – mostly Uighurs but also Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs and Hui – under control. The Chinese government has long struggled to quiet the tensions that have stewed in the region for decades, at times leading to deadly attacks authorities attributed to Uighur separatists. But Beijing’s mass “re-education” campaign faces increasing global criticism over alleged human rights abuses. The United Nations estimates that one million people in Xinjiang have been thrown into mass internment camps.

source https://news.yahoo.com/chinas-xi-jinping-says-happiness-083952555.html