By Xu Hailin
Over 40,000 local officials from Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region this year have been sent to farms and villages to promote Party policies and socialist ideas to residents by reading newspapers.
The team in Xinjiang’s Altay Prefecture is composed of over 40,000 people, called “newspaper readers,” and are mostly government officials and company employees, a social media account operated by the united front work department of Xinjiang reported on Sunday.
Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, preferential Party policies and political commentaries are required to be promoted during the activities, the report said.
For the 17,000 Altay residents who work outside the prefecture, the team has sent relevant materials through WeChat. For the 12,000 herdsman, about 785 activities are held in over 200 yurts.
“Many Xinjiang residents did not know much about preferential policies on poverty alleviation, while the team in villages help change the situation and better implement such policies,” said Turgunjan Tursun, a professor at Zhejiang Normal University.
Similar activities to better connect local officials and residents are held in other parts of the region. In December 2017, officials and government employees in Xinjiang were required to live, eat and study with local families whom officials have been told to consider and treat as “relatives.”
A government employee at a prison in Urumqi who requested anonymity told the Global Times that such policies help residents better understand government policies, and also help remove misunderstandings.
The policies help prevent local residents from being fooled by separatists into joining activities that undermine national security, as they would have a clear understanding of such crimes and national policies, said the anonymous employee.
The “newspaper readers” also read proses, poems and novels to local residents.
Due to the nomadic lifestyle, herdsmen seldom have the chance for cultural activities, and the officials’ presence is a good way to satisfy the diverse cultural needs.
Newspaper headline: Xinjiang officials spread Party policies in rural areas
