Xinjiang's Uighur Muslim Population Increases Outs Of The Han Majority

Photo illustration of Uighur Muslims (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

JAKARTA - The population growth of ethnic minorities, Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang autonomous region has reached 25 percent in four years. The local government facilitates its citizens who are abroad to check on their family's condition through the Chinese Embassy.

The growth of the Uighur ethnic minority far outpaced the growth of the Han majority during the 2010-2018 period. Professor Lin Fangfei, Head of the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Xinjiang University, said in Beijing, Monday, January 11, that in 2018 the Uighurs in China's westernmost region had increased by 1,271, up 25.04 percent compared to 2010's growth.

Meanwhile, Han ethnicity in Xinjiang in 2018 only increased by 900 people, or an increase of two percent compared to 2010. Another Muslim ethnic minority in Xinjiang, Kirgiz, which lives in Kizilsu Prefecture, in 2020 its growth actually reached 10.5 percent.

"So the growth is not only 1.05 percent, but 10.5 percent," he said correcting a survey by a German anthropologist.

Meanwhile, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Government is offering assistance to its citizens living abroad to find out about the condition of their families in the westernmost region of China.

"For Xinjiang people who live abroad and can't contact their relatives, then they can contact the Chinese embassy and we will help," said Zulhayat Ismail, a spokesman for the local government.

It considers its citizens abroad who are unable to contact their relatives for various reasons. "I need to explain that Xinjiang residents can communicate fairly and freely with their relatives abroad," he said.

If someone cannot be contacted, he suspects that the contact number has changed or is being detained for being involved in a crime. Zulhayat then gave an example of Azmat Omar, a Chinese citizen who lives in Australia.

Azmat said he lost contact with his family members in Xinjiang, including his father, stepmother, three brothers, two sisters and more than 20 nieces. "In fact, all of Azmat's relatives lead normal lives in Xinjiang," he said during the press conference with foreign media in Beijing.