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Chinese authorities reportedly forced Muslims in the Xinjiang region to eat pork and drink alcohol during the Lunar New Year holiday in the country, as part of a well-known crackdown on the country. ;Islam.
The inhabitants of the Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of Ili were invited to events marking the celebration and said that they could be taken to re-education camps if they did not participate, according to the newspaper. Free Asia Radio (FRG).
"The Kazakhs of Xinjiang have never [eaten pork]. Since last year, some people have been forced to eat pork in order to celebrate a Han Chinese festival, "said an unnamed official quoted by the US government.
Eating pork is strictly forbidden in Islam.
Officials delivered pork directly to Muslim households and insisted that traditional Chinese New Year decorations be displayed on the outside, according to the RFA report.
A previous report published by a Christian NGO, ChinaAid, said in February 2018 that Muslims in Xinjiang had been forced to take part in New Year's celebrations, including eating foods they had not prepared and eating. which they did not know the contents.
Last October, it was also reported that officials in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, had launched a campaign against halal products.
China is engaged in what it has called an anti-extremist and anti-separatist campaign in Xinjiang, a strongly Muslim region, an autonomous region with large populations of Uygur and Kazakh ethnic groups.
Rights groups and foreign governments have accused Beijing of systematically repressing Islam in the province, saying that nearly one million people are currently being held in re-education camps where they are obliged to recite Communist Party propaganda and to deny their beliefs.
Some former detainees claimed to have been forced to consume pork and alcohol while they were inside.
Sign of the scale of the project, Han officials and Chinese civilians were reportedly sent to live with Muslim families for surveillance purposes. Beijing has unveiled plans to "sinify" Islam within four years.
China has described the camps as "centers of vocational education", insisting that it protects the religion and culture of ethnic minorities and that security measures are needed in Xinjiang to counter the groups. inciting violence.
This week, groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have asked the United Nations Human Rights Council to send an international investigation mission to the region.
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