Also in 2025 China forces its Muslims to eat and drink during Ramadan

18 March 2025

Chinese authorities have instructed Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region to submit video proof that they are not fasting during Ramadan, as reported by police officers and shared on social media by Uyghur residents.

On the Chinese social media platform Douyin, a resident from Peyziwat county in Kashgar prefecture explained that he is required to record a video of himself eating lunch every day until Eid al-Fitr, which this year is on March 29, marking the end of Ramadan. He mentioned that he has to send the video to the local village official in charge of monitoring the community, noting that he has been doing this “to avoid any issues.”

“Wherever I go, be it the market or the hospital, I must record a video of me having lunch every day and send it to the village cadre,” he says. “My daily proof is being saved on my phone.”

Daytime fasting during Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, a practice that most Muslims around the world observe without restriction.

However, for years, China has prohibited fasting during Ramadan as part of broader measures limiting religious practices among Muslims in Xinjiang, all under the pretext of combating religious extremism. Chinese authorities have also banned Uyghurs from attending mosque prayers on Fridays and observing Muslim holidays.

This is part of China’s larger, systematic campaign against Uyghurs and their culture, which includes mass detentions, forced labor, and efforts to eliminate the Uyghur language.

Police and government officials across Xinjiang, when contacted by Radio Free Asia, confirmed that residents are being required to provide proof that they are eating during Ramadan.

A police officer in Peyziwat county said residents there, including Uyghur police, did not have permission to fast during Ramadan.

“We implemented a system in which residents need to send us video proof that they are not fasting during Ramadan,” she said. “I have residents who send their proof to me.”

The measure is being carried out in Gulbagh, Bayawat and Terim townships of Peyziwat county, she said.

A staff member from a government office in Peyziwat county, who requested anonymity to speak freely, revealed that the practice of submitting videos to prove that Uyghurs are not fasting has been implemented across the entire county.

Some officials have even called residents, insisting they show proof of eating right away, he added.

So far, Uyghur residents have complied with the demand, as they know that others who were detained for fasting during previous Ramadans have faced punishment, he explained.

Another government staff member from Peyziwat’s Misha township mentioned that, in addition to the video submission requirement, authorities are planning to organize a communal meal for the public to ensure that Uyghurs are eating during the day.

“To disrupt the activities of people who secretly fast, we are planning to organize collective eating activities,” she said.

In previous years, authorities held public meetings warning Muslims not to fast and patrolled Uyghur neighborhoods, inspecting homes during daytime and spying on residents at night to make sure they were eating.

“As Muslims around the world observe Ramadan in prayer and reflection, Uyghur Muslims are imprisoned, enslaved in forced labor, and suffocated under relentless surveillance,” said Rushan Abbas, executive director of the Washington-based Campaign for Uyghurs, in a statement on Feb. 28, at the start of Ramadan.

“Stripped of their religious freedom, they are banned from fasting, praying, or even identifying as Muslim — while the Chinese regime brazenly continues its crimes against them.”