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China’s foreign ministry brings in new press official from Xinjiang
- Lin Jian was party chief at paramilitary organisation XPCC’s foreign office
- The appointment comes as China steps up efforts to push its own narrative
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Sylvie Zhuangin Beijing
China’s foreign ministry has appointed a new senior press official whose previous role was in Xinjiang – a flashpoint in ties with the West – as Beijing steps up efforts to push its own narrative to the world.
Career diplomat Lin Jian has been named as deputy director general of the ministry’s press unit, which releases information on diplomatic events and foreign policy.
The announcement was made on the ministry’s website on Friday, with Lin now holding the same administrative title as foreign ministry spokespeople Wang Wenbin and Mao Ning.
Lin has just finished a stint in the far western region of Xinjiang, where for several years he was Communist Party chief at the foreign office of state-run paramilitary organisation the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
During his time at XPCC, some of its top leaders were sanctioned by the United States and other Western nations in 2020 and 2021 over alleged human rights abuses against Uygurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in the region.
Lin was not among those sanctioned, but the list included XPCC party secretary Wang Junzheng, who is now the party chief of Tibet.
The European Union also imposed sanctions on XPCC’s public security bureau, accusing it of running detention centres and violating the human rights of Muslim ethnic minority groups.
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