Centre for China Analysis and Strategy

CHINA-LEADERSHIP: APPOINTMENT IN XINJIANG

Xinjiang Daily reported on February 26, 2019, the appointment of Wang Junzheng, former Party Secretary of Changchun, as Party Secretary in charge of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Xinjiang. Official media reports state that Wang Junzheng would ensure the Party’s ‘absolute leadership’ in the autonomous region. He will be in charge of law and order and take responsibility for the security crackdown in which a reported 1 million Muslims have been interned.

(Comment: Wang Junzheng's appointment suggests that the level of the official in charge of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission in Xinjiang has been upgraded. Chen Quanguo remains the Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.)