# The Uighur Situation https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur ### (Biased) thread against Uighul detainment by [[Asatar Bair]] https://twitter.com/asatarbair/status/1367632236007202819?t=EHyGEppsPeStkYP8aqMZnA&s=19 ### (Unverified) 'no refugees' coming from Xinjiang https://twitter.com/imyjimmy/status/1478633990328393731?t=xxgZKJZwwwNZCE7H1UgX2Q&s=19 another subtle tell is that there’s no refugees from xj fleeing to neighboring countries ### Western expat in China thinks nothing is up https://twitter.com/McardleCurt/status/1478603456516870152?t=I7Oj6xfYuoedtoCb9tQJdg&s=19 In my first 5 years in China, the topic of Chinese politics almost NEVER came up with people from back home. Not unless I initiated it at least. This past month, I've received these 3 messages from 3 close friends. Seems the daily attack pieces are doing their job quite well 😞 https://twitter.com/Jerry_grey2002/status/1478614618624999429?t=bpPQXsD_90Lsghm4-CZPgA&s=19 Wow, it's working I've been to Xinjiang several times, I've never seen a camp, but those people in the UK all know more than me because they read about it! We have work to do... ## "China Secretly Built A Vast New Infrastructure To Imprison Muslims" - ### Pulitzer-winning investigative journalism by BuzzFeed - https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/meghara/china-new-internment-camps-xinjiang-uighurs-muslims - Lots of links to other resources and ways to verify - Funded by the [[OTF]]: "INVESTIGATIVE SERIES ON XINJIANG DETENTION CAMPS WINS PULITZER PRIZE IN INTERNATIONAL REPORTING" - https://www.opentech.fund/news/investigative-series-on-xinjiang-detention-camps-wins-pulitzer-prize-in-international-reporting/ - This is a beginning to a rabbit hole if you have the time ## "‘End the dominance of the Uyghur ethnic group’: an analysis of Beijing’s population optimization strategy in southern Xinjiang" https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02634937.2021.1946483#.YSZAhjKaFzc.twitter ### Abstract Chinese academics and politicians argue that Xinjiang’s ‘terrorism’ problem can only be solved by ‘optimizing’ its ethnic population structure. High ethnic minority population concentrations are considered a national security threat. ‘Optimizing’ such concentrations requires ‘embedding’ substantial Han populations, whose ‘positive culture’ can mitigate the Uyghur ‘human problem’. Scenarios that do not overburden the region’s ecological carrying capacity entail drastic reductions in ethnic minority natural population growth, potentially decreasing their populations. Population ‘optimization’ discourses and related policies provide a basis to assess Beijing’s ‘intent’ to destroy an ethnic minority population in part through birth prevention per the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention. The ‘destruction in part’ can be assessed as the difference between projected natural population growth without substantial government interference and reduced growth scenarios in line with population ‘optimization’ requirements. Based on population projections by Chinese researchers, this difference could range between 2.6 and 4.5 million lives by 2040. ## Detainment of [[Uighur]] intellectuals ### [[Rahile Dawut]], mother of [[Akida Pulat]] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/world/asia/china-xinjiang-rahile-dawut.html [[Akida Pulat]]: https://oslofreedomforum.com/speakers/akida-pulat/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/Akida_p - Her mother [[Rahile Dawut]] was arrested in 2017 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/rahile-dawut-07132021175559.html#.YO9vXEE61MI.twitter ### Police openly admit putting people to jail for irrelevant reasons Police being very frank (Shuimogou Police Station, August 2018): "Turkinaz Alim, female, Uyghur, ID: 650105199507090025. Sent to transformation through education for having studied abroad in Turkey." And her father gifted the center two brocade banners as a show of gratitude. ![[20210829_002015.jpg]] https://twitter.com/shahitbiz/status/1431587089867591686?s=19 ### " One by One, My Friends Were Sent to the Camps" "This remarkable, chilling, urgent piece in @TheAtlantic by @HamutTahir on his escape from Xinjiang is now completely free to read — no paywall, no registration" https://www.theatlantic.com/the-uyghur-chronicles/ The richness and vibrancy of this milieu can be glimpsed even amid the tragedy coursing through these memoirs: the shopkeeper lovingly translating [[Bertrand Russell]] as the threat of arrest draws closer; the novelist whose irrepressible sense of humor leavens the unfolding atrocity. ### People are jailed based on attributes rather than crimes An incredible number of detention justifications are phrased by the authorities as: 因……人员被……收…… (taken into ... by ... for being a ... person) In other words, people are taken for who they are, as opposed to something concrete that they did. ![[20210909_173454.jpg]] ![[20210909_173455.jpg]] ![[20210909_173456.jpg]] ![[20210909_173457.jpg]] https://twitter.com/shahitbiz/status/1435705242562277379?s=19 ### Ilham Tohti ![[20211026_000626.jpg]] - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/i/status/1452646910548905997) by [@JewherIlham](https://twitter.com/JewherIlham) on [[October 25th, 2021]]: - Today is my father Ilham Tohti’s 52 year old birthday. I often get asked by journalists about which one is my favorite photo of my father. I usually pick this one. This pic was shot in my old Nokia phone back on Feb 2nd, 2013- my last time seeing him at the Beijing international [pic.twitter.com/srVr6j0YQa](https://twitter.com/JewherIlham/status/1452646910548905997/photo/1) - 2- airport. Yes, the photo quality isn’t great, but by seeing his smile in this pic I get reminded of how happy my father was when he thought and actually believed that the 2 of us would make it to the U.S safely, together. But he never made it to the U.S. Instead he was put… - 3- in prison, and sentenced to life. Would he have chosen the same path of human rights advocacy if he knew what he was going to face? Yes, I know he would do the same over again and again! He would never stop peacefully fighting for our people, the Uyghurs! That’s Ilham Tohti, - 4- the man I know who loves his family, his work, his people- and my dearest dearest father. 💙 ## Leaked Documents Detail Xi Jinping’s Extensive Role in Xinjiang Crackdown "Records of internal speeches released by U.K.-based panel show how China’s leader set the blueprint for vast campaign of forcible assimilation against Uyghurs, other groups" https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaked-documents-detail-xi-jinpings-extensive-role-in-xinjiang-crackdown-11638284709 https://archive.md/DkgX0#selection-293.11-300.0 > The documents show Mr. Xi warning about the dangers of religious influence and unemployment among minorities, and emphasizing the importance of “population proportion,” or the balance between minorities and Han Chinese, for maintaining control in the region. - This document has been authenticated and appears legitimate - But it doesn't seem all that bad? How does it imply concentration camps? - The Han Chinese moving in isn't great, but isn't necessarily as bad as cultural genocide either - Could be vocational centers, could be concentration camps... nothing to confirm or deny > The documents show Mr. Xi drawing a distinction between “the pure spirit of religion” and religious extremism, arguing that “normal religious activities and the legal rights of the religious world must be protected.” But the Chinese leader also rails against what he describes as religious interference in matters of “secular life,” such as marriage, funerals and the finding of spouses, according to the documents. > "In practice, as The Wall Street Journal has reported, Uyghurs in Xinjiang have been threatened with detention or sent to camps for engaging in a variety of commonplace religious practices such as praying daily and owning a Quran." ## U.S. and Its Allies Sanction China Over Treatment of Uyghurs in Collective Action https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-and-its-allies-sanction-china-over-treatment-of-uyghurs-in-collective-action-11616440582?mod=article_inline https://archive.md/9lyOI Best evidence is the photo of the "vocational skills education center" ![[c91ca9b9d071db8d4d19007609dc09c77210d46f.jpeg]] > Workers walked past what is officially known as a vocational skills education center in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, in 2018. Yeah that's pretty sus ### “What we are seeing is a shift from mass internment to coerced labor and mass imprisonment.” https://twitter.com/supchinanews/status/1471388773304782850?t=Bq5IN_UjF6nHbzWjmNCw5g&s=19 —A Q&A with [@dtbyler](https://mobile.twitter.com/dtbyler), author of a new book on China’s oppressive policies against Uyghurs and other Muslims in western China: https://supchina.com/2021/12/16/what-is-happening-in-xinjiang-as-2021-draws-to-a-close/