According to Al-Jazeera, The Chinese Communist Party of China has banned Muslim civil servants, students and teachers in Xinjiang from fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.
Muslims are required by faith to fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadan but the ruling Communist party has restricted Muslims from practicing their faith for years.
The Food and Drug Administration in Xinjiang has also notified food service industries to operate as per normal during Ramadan. Officials in the Bole county were told not to engage in fasting or other religious activities during Ramadan.
The education bureau in a city in Xinjiang has ordered schools to inform students that during Ramadan, ethnic minority students do not fast, do not enter mosques ... and do not attend religious activities".
Human rights groups criticized China's restrictions on Islam have added to ethnic tensions in the region.
"China's goal in prohibiting fasting is to forcibly move Uighurs away from their Muslim culture during Ramadan," said Dilxat Rexit, a spokesman for the exiled World Uyghur Congress.
In response, China says it faces a "terrorist threat" in Xinjiang, with officials blaming "religious extremism" for the growing violence.