Difference between revisions of "Uyghur Genocide"

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<ref name="ninth"> Roberts, Sean R. (2018-03-22). "The biopolitics of China's "war on terror" and the exclusion of the Uyghurs". Critical Asian Studies. 50 (2): 232–258. doi:10.1080/14672715.2018.1454111. ISSN 1467-2715. S2CID 149053452. </ref>
 
<ref name="ninth"> Roberts, Sean R. (2018-03-22). "The biopolitics of China's "war on terror" and the exclusion of the Uyghurs". Critical Asian Studies. 50 (2): 232–258. doi:10.1080/14672715.2018.1454111. ISSN 1467-2715. S2CID 149053452. </ref>
  
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<ref name="tenth"> https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/29/europe-cai-china-human-rights-uyghurs-sanctions/  </ref>
  
 
== Background ==
 
== Background ==
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== International Response ==
 
== International Response ==
  
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In regards to International response on the treatment of the Uyghur Muslims in China, country responses have varied widely depending on region, as well as strategic relationship with China.
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=== United States ===
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In January 2021 on former President Donald J. Trump’s last day in Office, then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally acknowledged China’s actions against the Uyghur Muslims as crimes against humanity and genocide, making the U.S. the first country to acknowledge it as consistent with the Genocide Convention’s definition of the term. In addition to this formal acknowledgement, the United States has also issued visa restrictions on Chinese officials and blacklisted more than two dozen companies linked to abuses in the Xinjiang region, blocking them from buying U.S. products. Congress also passed legislation in June 2020 mandating that individuals responsible for the abuses face sanctions, and requiring that U.S. businesses operating in the region ensure that their business proceedings are not contributing to the violation of human rights. In regards to trade, the U.S. has also banned cotton and tomato imports from the region <ref name="sixth">  Council on Foreign Relations. 2022. China’s Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. [online] Available at: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-repression-uyghurs-xinjiang.</ref>.
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=== European Union ===
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The European Union has also responded to the treatment of Uyghurs in China, putting sanctions on China for human rights abuses for the first time since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. China responded swiftly with sanctions on ten European individuals for “maliciously spreading lies and misinformation”<ref name="tenth"> https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/29/europe-cai-china-human-rights-uyghurs-sanctions/  </ref>. Despite this, they are continuing to move forward on an investment agreement with China that does not include provisions on forced labor <ref name="sixth">  Council on Foreign Relations. 2022. China’s Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. [online] Available at: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-repression-uyghurs-xinjiang.</ref>.
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=== China's Strategic Partners ===
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In contrast to many Western countries, many of China’s partners have been silent in regards to the human rights abuses being made against the Uyghurs, prioritizing instead their economic and strategic ties with the country. Additionally, following a joint letter to the United Nations condemning the human rights abuses, another joint letter was issued by more than three dozen states, including Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Iran, and Nigeria, commending China’s “remarkable achievements in the field of human rights” and counter-terrorism measures in Xinjiang <ref name="sixth">  Council on Foreign Relations. 2022. China’s Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. [online] Available at: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-repression-uyghurs-xinjiang.</ref>.

Revision as of 03:36, 25 January 2022

The Uyghur Genocide is the ongoing series of human rights abuses against the Turkic Muslim minority by the People’s Republic of China in the Xinjiang region. Carried out by the Chinese Communist Party under the rule of General Secretary Xi Jinping, these state-mandated behaviors have resulted in the internment of more than one million Uyghur and other muslim minorities in what China has referred to as “re-education” camps [1]. In these re-education camps, ethnic minorities are subjected to what is being referred to by diplomatic scholars as “ethnic cleansing” where inmates are forced to renounce their Islamic beliefs and pledge their loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party [1]. Additional abuses include measures to prevent Uyghur women from giving birth, which have included sterilizations, abortions, and the forced separations of children from their families [2].

The use of surveillance technologies has also proved to be especially prominent in the suppression of ethnic minorities in China, with the Communist Party enlisting surveillance firms to write ethnic-tracking specs, installing chips in mobile phones, and scanning digital communications to look for and flag what is deemed as “suspicious” behavior. [3]

International Response to the Uyghur genocide has varied. While there has been a strong international condemnation against the Chinese Communist Party by Western countries, many of China’s allies and economic partners have remained silent or praised China’s “counterterrorism” efforts. [4]



[1] [5] [6] [2] [3] [4] [7] [8] [9]

[10]

Background

Xinjiang

Xinjiang, which lies on the Northwest end of mainland China, was sparsely populated with herders and farmers organized into small kingdoms and tribes until 60 BCE, when the Han dynasty established a military command in the region. [6] Han power declined in the 3rd century, and Uyghur leaders gained power in the region until Chinese Imperial power returned in the Tang period (618-907)[6], increasing Chinese influence in the region. As Tang power and Chinese influence diminished in the 9th and 10th centuries, Arab influence increased, allowing not only Islam, but also the Turkic language to spread. Xinjiang was once again incorporated into the Chinese empire after being conquered by Genghis Khan in the 13th century, and was officially created a province in 1884 by the Qing government [6]. Following the installation of the Communist party in 1949, Xinjiang was established as an autonomous region, and moderate policies were implemented towards local minorities.

As a result of policies implemented during the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution causing food shortages, as well as a break in Sino-Soviet relations in the 1960s, a mass exodus of Kazakh people in Kazakhstan led to political instability and increased ethnic tensions in the area. Following the Cultural Revolution, there was increased economic investment in Xinjiang’s farms, resulting in Xinjiang producing 84% of China’s total cotton output in 2019 [7].


Uyghur Muslims and China (1911 - 2009)

Following the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, attempts to create independent Muslim states were made in the Xinjiang region, including the Ghulja Republic between 1944 and 1949 [8]. When the Communist Party took control in 1949, the Ghulja Republic was once again integrated into the Chinese state, causing armed resistance in the 1950s in the southern region of Xinjiang. During the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, more resistance groups emerged such as the East Turkestan People’s Party, which demanded Uyghur independence from China.

Increasing frustrations and the formation of militant groups inside Xinjiang led to demonstrations that in 1995 led to Beijing identifying the conflicts in Xinjiang as the most serious threat to the state, resulting in them launching a ‘Strike Hard’ campaign which sought to flush out dissidents. As part of this campaign, anyone suspected of supporting an independent Uyghur state or partaking in illegal religious activities could be arrested and detained without trial. The detentions led to clashes between Uyghurs and Chinese authorities, including an incident in July 2009 that resulted in the deaths of many Uyghurs and the detention and execution of thousands more[8].


People's War on Terror

The introduction of Xi Jinping as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012 led to massive changes in the Xinjiang region, and in turn for the Uyghur people. In 2014, the central government declared the “People’s War on Terror”, which incorporated a series of repressive strategies to control and limit the movement/actions of the Uyghurs. Such strategies included the denial of new passports, confiscating existing ones, as well as cutting access to online services, going so far as to detain Uyghur website owners for the content displayed on their sites. Additionally, Uyghur political figures critical of the Chinese state were detained and sentenced to life in prison for ‘separatism’ [9].

In 2016, Xi appointed Chen Quangao as the Xinjiang Party Secretary, who rapidly introduced further draconian measures of repression as a form of ‘counter-terrorism’ [8]. Chen Quengao was previously the Party Secretary in Tibet, where his methods were described with the term “Copper Ramparts, Iron Walls”, explained by the Human Rights Watch in this short passage:

“The term refers to an impenetrable “public security defense network” (zhi’an lianfang wangluo) consisting of citizen patrols, border security posts, police checkposts, surveillance systems, internet controls, identity card monitoring, travel restrictions, management of “focus personnel,” grid unit offices, informant networks, and other mechanisms that aim to control or monitor movement of people and ideas into, out of, or within a region or society. It describes the ideal of “stability maintenance” work, where authorities have successfully sealed off a region or society from people or ideas they regard as threatening or problematic [1]

Internment Camps

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Use of Surveillance Technology

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International Response

In regards to International response on the treatment of the Uyghur Muslims in China, country responses have varied widely depending on region, as well as strategic relationship with China.

United States

In January 2021 on former President Donald J. Trump’s last day in Office, then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally acknowledged China’s actions against the Uyghur Muslims as crimes against humanity and genocide, making the U.S. the first country to acknowledge it as consistent with the Genocide Convention’s definition of the term. In addition to this formal acknowledgement, the United States has also issued visa restrictions on Chinese officials and blacklisted more than two dozen companies linked to abuses in the Xinjiang region, blocking them from buying U.S. products. Congress also passed legislation in June 2020 mandating that individuals responsible for the abuses face sanctions, and requiring that U.S. businesses operating in the region ensure that their business proceedings are not contributing to the violation of human rights. In regards to trade, the U.S. has also banned cotton and tomato imports from the region [4].

European Union

The European Union has also responded to the treatment of Uyghurs in China, putting sanctions on China for human rights abuses for the first time since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. China responded swiftly with sanctions on ten European individuals for “maliciously spreading lies and misinformation”[10]. Despite this, they are continuing to move forward on an investment agreement with China that does not include provisions on forced labor [4].

China's Strategic Partners

In contrast to many Western countries, many of China’s partners have been silent in regards to the human rights abuses being made against the Uyghurs, prioritizing instead their economic and strategic ties with the country. Additionally, following a joint letter to the United Nations condemning the human rights abuses, another joint letter was issued by more than three dozen states, including Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Iran, and Nigeria, commending China’s “remarkable achievements in the field of human rights” and counter-terrorism measures in Xinjiang [4].
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Islamophobia, Chinese Style: Total Internment of Uyghur Muslims by the People's Republic of China. Islamophobia Studies Journal. Vol. 5, No. 2 (Fall 2020), pp. 175-198
  2. 2.0 2.1 BBC News. 2022. Uighurs: 'Credible case' China carrying out genocide. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55973215.
  3. 3.0 3.1 The Guardian. 2022. China’s hi-tech war on its Muslim minority. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/apr/11/china-hi-tech-war-on-muslim-minority-xinjiang-uighurs-surveillance-face-recognition.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Council on Foreign Relations. 2022. China’s Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. [online] Available at: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-repression-uyghurs-xinjiang.
  5. Grauer, Y. and Grauer, Y., 2022. Millions of Leaked Police Files Detail Suffocating Surveillance of China’s Uyghur Minority. [online] The Intercept. Available at: https://theintercept.com/2021/01/29/china-uyghur-muslim-surveillance-police.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Encyclopedia Britannica. 2022. Xinjiang - History. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/place/Xinjiang/History.
  7. 7.0 7.1 https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/uighur-labor-will-be-tough-to-avoid-in-cotton-supply-chains/586217/
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 https://www.historytoday.com/archive/behind-times/uighurs%E2%80%99-history-china
  9. 9.0 9.1 Roberts, Sean R. (2018-03-22). "The biopolitics of China's "war on terror" and the exclusion of the Uyghurs". Critical Asian Studies. 50 (2): 232–258. doi:10.1080/14672715.2018.1454111. ISSN 1467-2715. S2CID 149053452.
  10. 10.0 10.1 https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/29/europe-cai-china-human-rights-uyghurs-sanctions/