A popular Uyghur folk ballad, “Besh pede,” is among dozens of songs that authorities in China’s Xinjiang region have deemed problematic, according to a recording of a police meeting in the city of Kashgar. The recording, shared with the Associated Press by the Norway-based group Uyghur Hjelp, shows officials warning residents that listening to, storing, or sharing such songs could lead to imprisonment.
During the meeting, attendees were also instructed to avoid the common Muslim greeting “As-salamu alaykum” and to replace the traditional farewell “Allahqa amanet” — meaning “May God keep you safe” — with “May the Communist Party protect you.” The meeting reflects a continuing crackdown on cultural expression in the region.
Interviews with former Xinjiang residents corroborate the policy, with family members and acquaintances reportedly detained for playing and sharing Uyghur music. A court verdict obtained by the AP shows a Uyghur music producer was sentenced last year to three years in prison for uploading sensitive songs to his cloud account.
The renewed restrictions follow a period of mass detention between 2017 and 2019, when at least one million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities were held in extrajudicial internment camps, according to rights activists and foreign governments. In 2022, the United Nations accused China of rights violations in Xinjiang that might amount to crimes against humanity, including forced labour and sterilisation.
China’s Foreign Ministry defended the policies as lawful measures against terrorism and religious extremism, saying “anti-China forces” had maliciously exaggerated issues related to Xinjiang. The ministry insisted the government had safeguarded stability and development in the region. However, experts say the ban on songs indicates repression continues, albeit in a more subtle form, with random phone checks and boarding schools that separate children from families also cited as ongoing controls.
