Amid concerns of rights watchdogs, the Kazakh Senate ratified on October 5 an agreement with China on the exchange of personal data of their citizens. Senator Murat Qadyrbek said the deal will help to regulate visa-free travel between the two neighboring nations approved by Astana in August. Rights activists, however, say the personal data exchange may be used by Chinese government in its ongoing crackdown on indigenous ethnic groups in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, including Kazakhs, Uyghurs, Kyrgyz, and others. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
Kazakh Senate Ratifies Deal With China To Exchange Citizens' Personal Data
Kazakhstan's upper house of parliament, also known as the Senate