Rights fears at the heart of China's Belt and Road Gaukhar Kurmanaliyeva associates the special economic zone on the border between China and Kazakhstan with the long arm of Beijing after her cousin Asqar Azatbek -- a Chinese-born Kazakh passport holder -- was allegedly snatched by unknown Chinese people on the Kazakh side in December 2017. The case is a reminder of the severe security policies that China has imposed on mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in its vast border region of Xinjiang, which it considers crucial to the success of President Xi Jinping's cherished Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES