Central Symposium on Work in Xinjiang

The second Central Symposium on Work in Xinjiang was held in Beijing on 28 to 29 May 2014. CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the meeting. The meeting was chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, while Yu Zhengsheng gave a concluding speech. In the speech, which came a month after the 2014 Kunming attack and a few days after the May 2014 Ürümqi attack just after Xi's visit to Xinjiang, Xi focused on stability, stating that Xinjiang's stability was the foundation of the entire nation's stability. He argued that while focusing on economic development was right, it alone was not enough, noting that Yugoslavia was "originally a country with good economic and living standards, but it finally fell apart". Xi argued that "This shows that economic development does not naturally bring about long-term peace and stability, and issues pertaining to development cannot be used to substitute issues pertaining to stability." He added that Xinjiang's terrorism problems were of external nature: "As I said before, there are ‘seeds’ outside the [national] borders, the ‘soil’ within the borders, and a ‘market’ online – these are the main causes behind the highly active occurrence of violent terrorist activities in Xinjiang". Xi considered stability maintenance work in Xinjiang to be "at a historical stage" and said "[w]e must have strong faith in our victory, make a determined effort, and even have to pay a special price sometimes". Xi said:^[4]

In the face of rampant violent terrorist activities and frenzied violent terrorists, we must focus our current fight on a severe crackdown on violent terrorist activities. We must not hesitate or waver in the use of the weapons of the people’s democratic dictatorship and focus our energy on executing a crushing blow that buys us time and initiative for solving the deep-seated issues regarding Xinjiang’s long-term peace and stability.

He proposed a "painful period of interventionary treatment" for Xinjiang and called for "preemptive control of the enemy". He said in Xinjiang, "intelligence work is overall weak", meaning counterterrorism work resembled "fighting against the enemy with a black eye". He said the authorities must "compare and correlate massive amounts of data" but also that technology cannot fully replace human work. Xi argues that it is a "political mistake" to deemphasize the difference between ethnic groups, adding such differences decrease only as a "result of a long process of social development". He instead says China "must unswervingly adhere to the party's ethnic policies and the system of ethnic regional autonomy". Xi expressed concern about the rising ethnic tensions between Uyghurs and Han people, and condemns ethnic discrimination. He argues that discrimination leads to "ethnic groups living in separate communities", which should be countered with "a social structure and community environment where all ethnic groups are mutually embedded in each other". Xi proposes the following policies:^[4]

The scale of Xinjiang's ethnic minorities receiving education, employment, and residence in other parts of China will be expanded in an orderly manner, promoting deeper understanding and stronger bonds among people of all ethnic groups through shared production, life, work, and study.

Xi warns of unemployment among ethnic minorities, stating large number of unemployment people would "provoke trouble". He proposes ethnic minorities to be put to enterprise work which is "conducive to ethnic interaction, exchanges and blending" and thus helps them "resist religious extremist thinking" as well as make them "unobtrusively study Chinese culture". Xi quotes the term "hug each other tightly like pomegranate seeds" for various ethnic groups in Xinjiang, which he says was coined by an Uyghur cadre a few days after the Kunming attack. He calls on for greater interactions between different ethnic groups:^[4]

Cadres and people of all ethnic groups must move to interact with each other on multiple levels, in multiple ways, and in multiple forms. This is an important task that must be done under the current situation. ... Party and government agencies, enterprises and institutions, civic organizations, and democratic parties must take the initiative to do something harmonious and with sentiment. Uyghur and Han cadres and workers must engage in activities together and find a weekend once a month to do an activity together. Cadres of all ethnic groups can take the initiative to drop by, to visit, to take their family members and children and go on walks together, chat, have a meal, all of these are viable options.

Xi speaks of a "heart disease" in Xinjiang:^[4]

Heart disease requires heart medicine. For Xinjiang, this "heart medicine" is a correct view of the motherland and nation, Chinese culture, the core value system of socialism and the core values of socialism. It is necessary to use this medicine to support the correct, remove evil, strengthen the body, and strengthen the heart. We must adopt effective measures to strengthen the recognition that people of all ethnic groups identify with the great motherland, the Chinese nation, the Chinese culture, and the road to socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Xi also warns of religious extremism:^[4]

Religious extremism is a powerful psychedelic drug. Under its toxic influence, some people become obsessed with "martyrdom." When committing violent and terrorist crimes, these people often lose their lives through their stubborn resistance – out of fear that they may not die. Some persons – even whole families – become reckless criminals. Without eradicating the violent and terrorist ideology of religious extremism, violent terrorist activities will continue to replicate and multiply like cancer cells.

Xi calls on Xinjiang to implement Party policies regarding religion. He says that some cadres have expressed views including "development of Islam should be curbed" or that Islam should be "eliminated", which he said was "one-sided and even wrong". He cites Friedrich Engels in saying religions will eventually disappear with increasing material conditions and ideological awareness, but that this would take a long time. He calls on Xinjiang to be secularized:^[4]

It is necessary to vigorously disseminate modern cultural concepts and behaviors, produce large numbers of modern cultural products that transmit modern culture in their values, convey the real life of ethnic minorities in their contents, and appeal to the public through their styles and techniques, so as to guide the masses towards secularization and modernization in their spiritual and emotional interests. A secularized atmosphere has to be vigorously cultivated and promoted, and continuously maintained. Xinjiang has long been known as the land of songs and dances, where multiple cultures coexist.

In his speech, Premier Li Keqiang notes that there were "about 3 million urban and rural laborers in Xinjiang who need to find employment, which is equivalent to about one-sixth of the labor force in the region", especially in southern Xinjiang. He adds "P]eople without land, employment or a fixed income have nothing to do and wander around all day; not only will this breed dissatisfaction, but they will also be easily exploited by evildoers". Li adds:^[4]

There is an old saying in Xinjiang, "I would rather eat bread at home than eat mutton soup outside." On the one hand, this shows people's strong feelings for their hometown, while on the other, it indicates that their awareness regarding [the need for] leaving their hometown to work or start a business is weak. Changing this situation requires patience and time, as well as improving the management [and] training methods for new employees.

Yu Zhengsheng gave the concluding speech, stating "We must thoroughly comprehend that doing a proper job in Xinjiang is not only a matter of concern for the region, but also a major issue for the whole party and the entire country. If the Xinjiang situation is not handled properly, it will influence the overall situation regarding reform, development and stability throughout the country, as well as the realization of the "Two Centenary Goals."

The third Central Symposium on Work in Xinjiang was held in Beijing on 25 to 26 September 2020. CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the meeting. The meeting was chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, and was attended by Li Zhanshu, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, and Han Zheng, while Wang Yang gave a concluding speech.^[5] Xi told the meeting that "Viewed overall, Xinjiang is enjoying a favorable setting of social stability with the people living in peace and contentment" and that "The facts have abundantly demonstrated that our national minority work has been a success". He added that Xinjiang policies have been "totally correct" and "it must be held to for the long term".^[6]