Xi urges more work to 'control illegal religious activities' in Xinjiang on surprise visit

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has made a surprise visit to Xinjiang, urging officials in the region to conserve "hard won social stability" and deepen efforts in controlling "illegal religious activities". It was only his second visit since launching an extreme crackdown on the area's Uyghur and Turkic Muslim population almost a decade ago. Xi arrived in the city of Urumqi on Saturday, according to Chinese state media, where he heard a government work report and made a speech to Communist party and government officials. During his visit, Xi urged officials to "more deeply promote the Sinicisation of Islam and…