By John Sudworth for BBC China's policy of transferring hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang to new jobs often far from home is leading to a thinning out of their populations, according to a high-level Chinese study seen by the BBC. Buzeynep Abulehet,the eldest daughter of a family of six, kisses her mother before leaving for work, at her home in Moyu of Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 26, 2020. Photo: Zhao Ge / Xinhua via AFP The government denies that it is attempting to alter the demographics of its far-western region and says the job transfers are designed to raise incomes and alleviate chronic rural unemployment and poverty.