New York. China is systematically changing the names of villages in Xinjiang. These villages have religious, historical and cultural significance for the minority Muslim Uighur community.

What did HRW say in the report?

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has claimed in a report released on Wednesday that the new names of these villages associated with the Uighur community reflect the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party. Its aim is to completely destroy the Uighur culture.

China changed the names of hundreds of villages in Xinjiang

Maya Wang, the acting Chinese director at the international NGO's headquarters in New York City, said that the Chinese authorities have changed the names of hundreds of villages in Xinjiang. The purpose of changing these names by the Chinese government is to eliminate the culture and religious beliefs of the Uighurs. Human Rights Watch has found this in a research conducted from the United Russia in collaboration with the Norwegian organization Uighur Help.

Names with Islamic terms were targeted

The international agency has said in its report that China's National Bureau of Statistics has removed the old names of these villages of Xinjiang from the website between 2009 and 2023. Out of 25 thousand villages, the names of about 3,600 villages were gradually changed during this period. In these changes, names with Islamic terms have been targeted.

Such names include Hoja, used for Sufi religious teachers, Hanika, used for Sufi buildings, etc. Similarly, names reflecting Uyghur history have been targeted.