Chinese authorities in Xinjiang relocated 460 thousand residents

Beijing. Jul 9. Silkroadnews - Authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China relocated 461,000 poverty-ridden residents to work in other parts of the region during the first quarter of the year to improve social stability and alleviate poverty, Global Times wrote.
Reportedly, the government of Xinjiang also plans to relocate another 100,000 residents in southern Xinjiang’s Hotan and Kashi by 2019, to get employed somewhere else.
Reducing poverty in Xinjiang is more difficult than in other places, as, in addition to poverty, Xinjiang also faces “ethnic issues”, Yu Shaoxiang, an expert on legislation on social protection and poverty alleviation at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said.
Most of the poor districts in southern Xinjiang suffer from a poor living environment, insufficient local infrastructure and terrorism.
Yu also noted, relocating people to work away from home is expected to help them better integrate with the rest of China and then return to Xinjiang with advanced work skills. According to him, relocation also helps to maintain regional security.
According to Yu, in comparison with other parts of China, the level of education among the southern Xinjiang residents is relatively low, and a competent knowledge of the standard Chinese language is a key to getting a job outside Xinjiang.
To solve these problems, the Xinjiang government has provided language training throughout the region to make sure at least one person in a family could have employable skills.