China removing religious and cultural references from Xinjiang place names, rights groups say

In short: A Human Rights Watch Report found that Chinese authorities renamed more than 600 Uyghur villages to remove religious or cultural references. A Human Rights Watch Report found that Chinese authorities renamed more than 600 Uyghur villages to remove religious or cultural references. The name changes included replacing mentions of religion or religious leaders with positive words such as “unity” and “harmony”. The name changes included replacing mentions of religion or religious leaders with positive words such as “unity” and “harmony”. Experts said changing the village names reflected the Chinese government’s effort to erase Uyghur identity, language and culture….