Beijing, China (CNN) More than a million Chinese Communist officials are being dispatched to live with local families in the western region of Xinjiang, a move seen as a sign of the government's increasingly tightened grip over the area's predominantly Uyghur Muslim population. Government statements and state media reports show that families are required to provide detailed information during the visits on their personal lives and political views. They are also subject to "political education" from the live-in officials-- whose stays are mandated to be at least one week per month in some locations. International advocacy group Human Rights Watch highlighted and condemned the government's "home stay" program in a report released Sunday, calling it a serious violation of privacy and cultural rights of the 11 million ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. Maya Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report, told CNN on Monday.

Source: CNN May 14, 2018 12:45 UTC