Document Confirms Brutal Treatment of Uyghurs In China

Fresh reports have emerged about the extent of the crackdown by Chinese authorities against Muslim Uyghurs in the central region of Xinjiang after a leaked internal Communist Party document was obtained by German media. And on Feb. 21 Amnesty International released case studies showing how China is systematically harassing Uyghurs and other Chinese Muslim minorities overseas.
The newly leaked document, known as the “Qaraqash Document” or “Qaraqash List” in reference to the Xinjiang town referred to in the document, shows that detainees were put into what China described as “re-education systems” for offenses related to common religious practices such as growing a beard or wearing a veil.
It also describes how authorities are using advanced surveillance techniques millions of cameras are installed across Xinjiang to track “every face, every family and every movement” of Muslim-minority Uyghurs, Deutsche Welle said.
Other people have been incarcerated for applying for a passport and not leaving the country and even having too many children in violation of China’s One Child policy, even though most ethnic minorities had traditionally been excluded and the policy has since been relaxed.
Speaking about Amnesty’s case studies, Patrick Poon, its China researcher, said: “These chilling accounts from Uyghurs living abroad illustrate how the far-reaching shadow of repression against Muslims from China extends far beyond its borders.
“Even when Uyghurs and members of other minorities flee persecution in Xinjiang, they are not safe. The Chinese government will find ways to reach them, to intimidate them and, ultimately, attempt to bring them back to face a grim fate including by pressuring other governments to return them.”
Amnesty analyzed information from about 400 Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Uzbeks and members of other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups living in 22 countries across five continents between September 2018 and September 2019.
In 2019, leaked internal documents showed how the campaign against Uyghurs in Xinjiang, which began in earnest following July 2009 sectarian riots, has been stepped up under the leadership of Xi Jinping.
In 2014, the Chinese president called for a “struggle against terrorism, infiltration and separatism” in Xinjiang. The documents showed how Xinjiang party secretary Chen Quanguo ordered local officials to “round up everyone who should be rounded up” after taking charge of the region in 2016.
Construction of the 21st century’s first mass concentration camps began shortly afterwards and various estimates from rights groups, helped by satellite imagery, have estimated that 1-2 million people have been interned.
Yet many countries who rely on Chinese trade and investment, including much of the Muslim world, have either remained silent or been guarded in their comments about the camps where more than 100 people have been documented to have died and where torture and rape have been reported to be commonplace.
(Extracted from www.ucanews.com)