China targets Uyghur music: Banned songs lead to jail in Xinjiang

WISE NEWS PRESS / BEIJING, CHINA — DEC. 31, 2025

Authorities in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region have reportedly intensified a crackdown on Uyghur culture by classifying dozens of songs as "problematic," using their consumption as grounds for detention and imprisonment.

According to a report by the Associated Press (AP) based on recordings obtained by the Norway-based nonprofit Uyghur Hjelp, police in Kashgar held a public meeting last October to warn residents against listening to, downloading, or sharing seven categories of songs. The crackdown is described by rights monitors and scholars as a "subtle but continuous" expansion of the systemic repression targeting the Uyghur ethnic identity.

Restrictions on folk ballads and religious references

The list of banned works includes "Besh Pede," a traditional folk ballad widely played at weddings for generations. Despite its romantic context, experts like Rachel Harris, a professor of ethnomusicology at SOAS University of London, say the song was likely flagged due to its lyrical references to "God." Other targeted works include:

• "Atalar" (Ancestors) by famed musician Abdurehim Heyit, who was previously detained.

• "Yanarim Yoq" (No Road Back Home), based on a poem by imprisoned poet Abduqadir Jalalidin.

  
  

• "Es-selamu Aleykum", a song featuring a traditional Islamic greeting.

Severe sentencing for music producers

The penalties for possessing or sharing these songs can be severe. AP highlighted the case of Yashar Xiaohelaiti, a 27-year-old Uyghur music producer, who was sentenced to three years in prison in 2023. Xiaohelaiti was accused of uploading 42 "problematic" songs to the NetEase Cloud Music platform and possessing "extremist" e-books. He was also fined 3,000 yuan (approximately $430) for exercising what advocates call his right to cultural expression.

Interference in daily language and identity

Beyond music, the cultural monitoring has reportedly extended into daily speech. Authorities have instructed local officials to avoid traditional greetings such as "Assalamu alaykum" and replace them with secular, pro-government slogans like "May the Communist Party protect you." Historian Rian Thum from the University of Manchester noted that while the most visible signs of repression, such as large checkpoints, have decreased, the focus on music indicates that the "spiritual erasure" of the Uyghur people continues unabated.

"To remove the music is to remove the soul," said Rahima Mahmut, a London-based Uyghur activist and artist. While the Chinese government maintains that minorities in Xinjiang are free to express their culture, the detention of artists and the banning of traditional ballads suggest a deepening of the cultural purge.

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