A senior ethnic Uighur official in China's violence-racked Xinjiang is being investigated for corruption, a government notice said today, as central authorities widen a highly publicised anti-graft probe.
Alimjan Maimaitiming, secretary general of the local government of the far-western region, is being probed for suspected "serious disciplinary violations", the Communist Party's anti-graft watchdog said, using a common term for corruption.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) gave no further details of the charges in the brief statement posted on its website.
Violent attacks and unrest have been on the rise in recent years both across China and in Xinjiang, home to the mostly Muslim Uighur minority.
Beijing has blamed what it describes as "terrorist" incidents on violent separatists from the vast, resource-rich region, where information is often difficult to verify independently.
Last October, the Uighur mayor of the oasis town of Hotan, in Xinjiang's southwest, was held as part of a graft investigation.
Rights groups accuse China's government of cultural and religious repression that they say fuels unrest in Xinjiang, which borders Central Asia.
Under President Xi Jinping, China's ruling Communist Party has repeatedly vowed to combat rampant graft in the face of public anger over the issue.
But critics say no systemic reforms have been introduced to increase transparency and help battle the problem, leaving the drive open to being used for factional in-fighting, while anti-corruption demonstrators have been jailed.
