China orders millions to surrender passports
China orders Xinjiang residents to surrender passports to police
Story highlights
- No reason was given for the policy which is being seen as an attack on personal freedom
- Xinjiang is home to about 10 million Uyghurs and around eight million Han Chinese
Beijing (CNN)Millions
of residents in China's northwestern Xinjiang region have been ordered
to surrender their passports to local police, in a move rights groups
say is an attack on personal freedom.
The
order came from the Shihezi Public Security Bureau Immigration Office
in Xinjiang on October 19, which said that passports would be held by
police after an "annual check."
Residents
wishing to travel abroad would have to seek permission from local
authorities, the statement said. Those who refuse could be barred from
leaving the country.
Xinjiang is an
ethnically divided and resource rich province that is home to around 10
million predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and around eight million Han
Chinese.
No reason was given for
the policy, however the World Uyghur Congress, a Germany-based rights
group, said it was deliberate move to restrict the movements of the
Uyghur population.
"Although
the regulations ostensibly target all residents, Chinese authorities in
the past have taken clear steps to limit mobility rights for the Uyghur
community in particular," the Congress said in a statement.
Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar – Uzbek figs are sold at the Kashgar bazaar, and by street hawkers around the province.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar – An Uyghur woman with her family in Kashgar's new Old Town.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar – Traditional Uyghur instruments on sale at the Kashgar Bazaar.
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Photos: Is this really China?
The Karakoram highway – Children beside a stone Kyrgyz house along the Karakoram Highway.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar Livestock Market – Kashgar's famously fat-bottomed lambs at the Livestock Market.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar livestock market – Cattle are chained to a fence, ready to be sold in the Kashgar livestock market.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Opal, near Kashgar – Circular Xinjiang flatbread is sold at the side of the road. It's flavored with onion and sesame.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Turpan – A woman relaxes in front of a vineyard at dusk.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Turpan – A man transports the region's prized seedless grapes.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar – An Uyghur band perform at one of Xinjiang's many Byzantine-style restaurants.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Karakoram Highway – A collection of yurts along the Karakoram Highway.
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Photos: Is this really China?
The Karakoram Highway – Stunning grasslands appear along the Karakoram Highway, with the Tian Shan range behind.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Karakal Lake – A yurt houses a Tajik family along the Karakal Lake.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Flaming Mountains – An old Uyghur village made of the flaming red mud and sand of the Taklamakan Desert.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Tuyoq village – One of the last still inhabited ancient Uyghur villages, with mud homes.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar Bazaar – Rugs, spices, trinkets and food are all on sale at the bazaar in Kashgar.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Karakul Lake – The jade waters of the Karakul Lake, in Xinjiang.
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Photos: Is this really China?
The Karakul Lake – Otherworldly sand dunes behind Karakul Lake.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Karakul Lake – A vendor sells items beside the Karakul Lake.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar – A young boy takes a nap beneath a stall selling Uyghur flatbread.
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Photos: Is this really China?
The road to Tashgurkan – A viewing point just before the Karakoram Highway reaches Tashgurkan.
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Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar livestock market – A man makes samsa -- bread parcels with diced lamb inside -- at the market. The parcels are baked inside a stone oven.
Hide Caption
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Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar – Uzbek figs are sold at the Kashgar bazaar, and by street hawkers around the province.
Hide Caption
12 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar – An Uyghur woman with her family in Kashgar's new Old Town.
Hide Caption
13 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar – Traditional Uyghur instruments on sale at the Kashgar Bazaar.
Hide Caption
14 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
The Karakoram highway – Children beside a stone Kyrgyz house along the Karakoram Highway.
Hide Caption
15 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar Livestock Market – Kashgar's famously fat-bottomed lambs at the Livestock Market.
Hide Caption
16 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar livestock market – Cattle are chained to a fence, ready to be sold in the Kashgar livestock market.
Hide Caption
17 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Opal, near Kashgar – Circular Xinjiang flatbread is sold at the side of the road. It's flavored with onion and sesame.
Hide Caption
18 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Turpan – A woman relaxes in front of a vineyard at dusk.
Hide Caption
19 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Turpan – A man transports the region's prized seedless grapes.
Hide Caption
20 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar – An Uyghur band perform at one of Xinjiang's many Byzantine-style restaurants.
Hide Caption
21 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Karakoram Highway – A collection of yurts along the Karakoram Highway.
Hide Caption
22 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
The Karakoram Highway – Stunning grasslands appear along the Karakoram Highway, with the Tian Shan range behind.
Hide Caption
1 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Karakal Lake – A yurt houses a Tajik family along the Karakal Lake.
Hide Caption
2 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Flaming Mountains – An old Uyghur village made of the flaming red mud and sand of the Taklamakan Desert.
Hide Caption
3 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Tuyoq village – One of the last still inhabited ancient Uyghur villages, with mud homes.
Hide Caption
4 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar Bazaar – Rugs, spices, trinkets and food are all on sale at the bazaar in Kashgar.
Hide Caption
5 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Karakul Lake – The jade waters of the Karakul Lake, in Xinjiang.
Hide Caption
6 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
The Karakul Lake – Otherworldly sand dunes behind Karakul Lake.
Hide Caption
7 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Karakul Lake – A vendor sells items beside the Karakul Lake.
Hide Caption
8 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar – A young boy takes a nap beneath a stall selling Uyghur flatbread.
Hide Caption
9 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
The road to Tashgurkan – A viewing point just before the Karakoram Highway reaches Tashgurkan.
Hide Caption
10 of 22
Photos: Is this really China?
Kashgar livestock market – A man makes samsa -- bread parcels with diced lamb inside -- at the market. The parcels are baked inside a stone oven.
Hide Caption
11 of 22
Terror attacks in China
China has blamed Uyghur separatists for a number of attacks in recent years, including one on a coalmine in September 2015, in which 50 people were killed.
But
exiled groups and human rights activists say the government's
repressive religious policies and economic marginalization are provoking
the unrest.
"Chinese authorities
have given no credible reason for taking away people's passports,
violating their right to freedom of movement," Sophie Richardson, China
Director for Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
"Doing
so across an entire region is a form of collective punishment and fuels
resentment toward the government in a region where tensions are high."
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