02 April,2017 08:27 AM IST | | Agencies
China stepped up a campaign against religious extremism in the far western region of Xinjiang yesterday by implementing a range of measures, including prohibiting abnormal beards, the wearing of veils in public places and the refusal to watch state television
Beijing: China stepped up a campaign against religious extremism in the far western region of Xinjiang yesterday by implementing a range of measures, including prohibiting "abnormal" beards, the wearing of veils in public places and the refusal to watch state television.
New legislation, passed on Wednesday and published on the region's official news website, widens existing rules with effect from April 1.
Workers in public spaces like stations and airports will be required to "dissuade" those who fully cover their bodies, including veiling their faces, from entering, and to report them to the police, the rules state. It will be banned to "reject or refuse radio, TV and other public facilities and services", marrying using religious rather than legal procedures and "using the name of Halal to meddle in the secular life of others".
