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Takeaways from AP's report on banned Uyghur songs
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Rahima Mahmut, Uyghur human rights activist, performs with the London Uyghur Ensemble during an interview with The Associated Press in London, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. - photo by AP Photo/Joanna Chan
Authorities in China’s Xinjiang region are threatening detention over downloading, sharing or listening to a wide range of Uyghur-language songs, the AP has found. The policy was revealed in a leaked recording of a public meeting last October in the city of Kashgar in Xinjiang, home to 11 million Uyghurs and other mostly Turkic ethnic minorities. The leaked recording, shared exclusively with AP by Norway-based nonprofit Uyghur Hjelp, suggests that forms of repression continue in the region.