Xinjiang residents ordered to hand in passports

The Chinese authorities have begun confiscating passports from people in the Western region of Xinjiang.

Source: weibo

All residents in the largely Muslim region will now have to first apply for permission to leave the country in order to retrieve their passports.

Human Rights Watch has described this as a violation of people's rights to freedom of movement.

But China's state-run media has reported government officials saying this has become necessary to maintain social order and combat the threat of terrorism.