The depth of the repression ranges from petty surveillance all the way up to to state sponsored rape, child separation and the torture and internment of over a million men and women.
Information has been slow to reach the outside world from China, a totalitarian state administered by the Communist Party, but diligent and determined work by journalists, human rights activists and academics has meant that a true picture of what is happening to Uyghurs has emerged piece by piece over the last couple of years, though the recent measures can be traced back to the inception of the ‘Strike Hard’ policy in 2014.
There is now a significant body of journalism on the plight of the Uyghur people, but it can be difficult to understand how it all fits together. We recommend reading, watching or listening to the following essential items of reporting if you wish to understand the main issues.
China’s Secret Internment Camps:
China’s oppression of Xinjiang’s Uyghurs: a visual history
Absolutely No Mercy’: Leaked Files Expose How China Organized Mass Detentions of Muslims
Alternatively, we recommend listening to this episode of the NYT’s The Daily podcast which accompanied this story:
Inside China’s ‘Thought Transformation’ camps
If you want to know more, we also recommend this New York Times undercover report inside a labour relocation programme.
China’s hi-tech war on its Muslim minority
In China, Every Day is Kristallnacht
Xinjiang: China, where are my children?
To understand more you can watch this Sky News’ attempt to locate missing Uighur children.
More information on the allegations of sexual violence within the “Pair Up and Become Family” programme can be found in this report and on the torture of female internees here and here.
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