China residents must submit DNA samples to obtain travel documents in Xinjiang
Authorities in Xinjiang, China announced that the residents of Ili prefecture need to submit blood samples for DNA profiling as a requirement for their travel documents.
Ili residents also need to provide a voice print sample, fingerprints and a 3-D body scan. Local police authorities said these are all part of a change in the requirements for travel document applications including passports, travel passes and exit permits, which took effect starting June 1.
Last year, Ili residents were ordered to turn their passports over to the police without informing them of the new requirements.
"We can take DNA samples here in the police station. We take blood samples, fingerprints, voice prints and photos. We take some blood samples from applicants for a DNA record. Then one can go to local passport office to apply," a police officer told Radio Free Asia.
The biometric data are required for all ethnic groups, the police officer added.
Some groups are crying foul against the new requirements, saying that taking DNA samples is a violation of human rights.
Umit Hemit, vice chairman of World Uyghur Congress, said obtaining DNA samples from the residents is not normal procedure.
"Controlling resident's biological data through an inappropriate way is not matter of national security. We don't see it as a normal procedure. We are against it and see it as a violation of human rights," he told Radio Free Asia.
Activist Liu Qing said collecting DNA samples is a breach of privacy and is not something "that can just be ordered as part of administrative regulations." Qing said the new rule was put in place to give the people a sense of fear.
"If they want to collect citizens' DNA, then they should at least ask people for their opinions, and then pass legislation," he said, according to Radio Free Asia.
The tension between authorities in Xinjiang and the predominantly Muslim Uyghur population in the region have persisted for many years.
A report from the BBC said that one cause of the discord between the two parties could be that authorities show favor to the Han Chinese over the Uyghurs in terms of jobs and other opportunities. The state also imposes strict regulations against the Uyghurs' religious practices, which fuel the tension between them.
