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SHANGHAI (Reuters) – "Sinification" of religion must be respected to promote ethnic solidarity and religious harmony, said a senior Chinese official in the troubled Xinjiang region in the west of the country. which is home to a large Muslim population.
Chinese Xinhua News Agency quoted You Quan, head of the ruling Communist Party's Unified Front Department, who oversees ethnic and religious affairs as saying on Saturday during his visit to Xinjiang this week.
"The party's leadership in religious work must be maintained," the president said, adding that "the infiltration of religious extremism must be protected."
Reports of mass detentions and strict surveillance of Uighurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang have provoked international criticism, prompting the United States to consider sanctions against those responsible and companies related to allegations of human rights violations.
China said Xinjiang was threatened by Islamist militants and separatists and rejected all accusations of mistreatment in an area where hundreds of people have been killed in recent years in unrest between Uighurs and members of the community. Han Chinese majority.
Xinhua said that you expressed the hope "that members of religious circles can inherit and perpetuate the beautiful traditions of loving the motherland and their faith, bring believers to follow good faith, comply with the law and to contribute to the healthy development of Islam ".
You are a member of the influential secretariat of the party's central committee.
Report by John Ruwitch; edited by David Stamp
