Zhu, who is a member of China's ethnic
Han majority, was born in
Lianshui County, Jiangsu. In 1975, Zhu was sent to
Kargilik County, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang in the
Down to the Countryside Movement. In October 2006, he was named a member of the regional CCP
Standing Committee and the head of the regional Political and Legal Affairs Commission, an important post overseeing internal security and law enforcement. In September 2009, he was named party chief of Urumqi after months of unrest in the capital. In April 2016, he was named deputy party chief of Xinjiang. According to the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Zhu had a major role on the strategic planning of the
Xinjiang internment camps. On 9 July 2020, US Secretary of State
Michael Pompeo announced that Zhu Hailun and his immediate family members were ineligible for entry into the United States due to Zhu's involvement in gross violations of human rights. On 22 March 2021, Zhu was sanctioned by the
European Union and the
United Kingdom. The
Council cited his involvement in the internment camps in Xinjiang, noting that "as Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region (2016 to 2019), Zhu Hailun was responsible for maintaining internal security and law enforcement in the XUAR. As such, he held a key political position in charge of overseeing and implementing a large-scale surveillance, detention and indoctrination programme targeting Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities. Zhu Hailun has been described as the 'architect' of this programme. He is therefore responsible for serious human rights violations in China, in particular large-scale arbitrary detentions inflicted upon Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities." As a second reason for adding him to the sanctions list, the EU added that "as Deputy Head of the 13th People’s Congress of the XUAR (2019 to February 2021), Zhu Hailun continued to exercise a decisive influence in the XUAR where the large-scale surveillance, detention and indoctrination programme targeting Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities continues." Zhu is also on the Canadian Consolidated Sanctions List. == See also ==