Despite the mistreatment of Uighur Muslims and alleged forced-labor abuses, Chinese President Xi Jinping has claimed that the level of happiness among all ethnic groups in the western region of Xinjiang is on the rise.
“The sense of gain, happiness, and security among the people of all ethnic groups (in Xinjiang) has continued to increase,” Xi told a ruling Communist Party conference on Xinjiang held on Friday and Saturday,
China plans to keep teaching its residents a “correct” outlook on China, the news agency quoted him saying on Saturday.
He further said that it was necessary to 'educate Xinjiang’s population' and guide “all ethnic groups on establishing a correct perspective on the country, history and nationality”.
“Practice has shown that the party’s strategy for governing Xinjiang in the new era is completely correct” and it should be a long-term approach, he added.
China has repeatedly denied mistreating Uighurs, and said that the camps are 'vocational training centre' to 'tackle extremism'.
The issue was raised even in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) where credible reports were cited as saying one million Muslims held in camps have been put to work.
United Nations has always expressed grave concerns that there were credible reports that China is holding a million Uighur Muslims in mass detention camps in Xinjiang province.
Many international human rights organisations have accused China of cracking down on the Uighurs by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending the minority community to undergo some form of forceful re-education or indoctrination.
