China’s policy gets mixed results
Xinjiang’s Uighur Muslims feel marginalised despite the billions spent on development.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Chinese government’s programme to develop its far western provinces.
China has been investing a huge amount of money into Xinjiang, its largest administrative region, hoping that it will catch up with the rest of the country’s fast growing economy.
Because of Xinjiang, China has become the second largest producer of wind power in the world. However, not all the region’s residents believe that the Chinese government’s involvement has benefited them.
Most of the religiously diverse population remains poor and people from the Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim group, feel marginalised and discriminated against.
Al Jazeera’s Melissa Chan reports from Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.