The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.
Do not hype the report “Karamay, Xinjiang: Five Types of People Prohibited from Public Transportation, Including Those with Long Beards.” (August 5, 2014)
《新疆克拉玛依：留大胡须等五种人员禁乘公交》一文不要炒作。
Clothing and facial hair now banned on Karamay buses. (International Business Times)
Wrapped up in anti-terrorist efforts in Xinjiang, bus passengers in Karamay are now also banned from wearing burkas, veils, head scarves, and clothing featuring the crescent moon and five-pointed star, a symbol of East Turkestan independence. The Karamay Daily reports on the ban [Chinese].
Bus commuters in the capital, Urumqi, now face restrictions like those for air travel. At the Los Angeles Times, Barbara Demick reports on the “fashion police” in the far western city of Kashgar:
Black-clad, helmet-wearing paramilitary forces were seen in several locations in recent days, stopping Uighur men to check their IDs and scroll through the playlists of their phones. As for women, they are targeted by the Communist Party’s version of the fashion police. Under a local initiative known as Project Beauty, guards at mobile checkpoints detain women whose clothing looks too Islamic. [Source]
Violence took nearly 100 lives in Xinjiang last week.
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.
