Authorities in the restive Chinese region of Xinjiang have abruptly cancelled the week-long National Day holiday “to prepare” for the Communist Party congress later this month, residents say. Local government officials, academics and students told the South China Morning Post they had also been called back to work. “This is the first time the whole National Day holiday has been cancelled”, a nurse from southern Xinjiang said. Those working in the private sector were apparently not affected by the cancellation. Arrangements for students varied but one university employee said academics had been ordered this week to study a collection of confessions made by corrupt officials. The snap decision comes a year after rising political star Chen Quanguo took over as party boss of Xinjiang, introducing a series of security measures including asking residents to hand over their passports and beefed up police patrols. James Leibold, an expert on China’s ethnic minorities at La Trobe University in Australia, said the move appeared to be an effort by Chen to “demonstrate his utmost loyalty to Xi and that he is a safe pair of hands”. The State Council, China’s cabinet, said late last year that the National Day holiday would run from October 1 to 8 and those who had to work during the period would be paid up to three times their regular rate, state news agency Xinhua reported.
