Zhang Chunxian, Party Secretary of the Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region, wrote in an essay published in the August edition of the authoritative Party theoretical magazine 'Qiu Shi' (Seeking Truth), stating that Southern Xinjiang will “implement family planning policy equally on all ethnic groups, to lower and stabilize an appropriate birth rate.” The remarks could indicate a tightening in rules that currently allow Uighurs to have as many as three children in the countryside, while Han Chinese can have two.