Uyghur genocide

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{{cquote|I thought that I would rather die than go through this [[torture]] and begged them to kill me. The authorities put a helmet-like thing on my head, and each time I was electrocuted, my whole body would shake violently and I would feel the pain in my veins. I don’t remember the rest. White foam came out of my mouth, and I began to lose consciousness. The last word I heard them saying is that you being a Uighur is a crime.|||Mihrigul Tursun, testimony to the [[US Congress]].<ref name="Theindependent">[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/uighur-muslim-china-mihrigul-tursun-torture-reeducation-camps-a8656396.html Muslim woman describes torture and beatings in China detention camp: ‘I begged them to kill me’]. ''The Independent.'']</ref><ref name="Timeuighurs">[https://time.com/5467628/china-uighur-congress-torture/ 'I Begged Them to Kill Me.' Uighur Woman Tells Congress of Torture in Chinese Internment Camps]. ''TIME.'']</ref>}}

{{ChinesePolitics}}
{{crimenav}}
The '''Uyghur genocide''' (also spelled the '''Uighur genocide''' or referred to as the '''Xinjiang genocide''') is an ongoing [[ethnic cleansing]] by the [[China|People's Republic of China]] targeting the indigenous Karluk Turkic Muslim minority in the Xinjiang Autonomous region via “re-education” to erase the Islamic beliefs of detainees.

Due to the extremely secretive nature of [[China]], and this being an ongoing story, some of the exact details have been unknown. In 2022, a leaked trove of Chinese government files was released, confirming the genocidal nature of Chinese government treatment of Uygurs.<ref>[https://www.xinjiangpolicefiles.org/ Xinjiang Police Files]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/85qihtvw6e/the-faces-from-chinas-uyghur-detention-camps The faces from China’s Uyghur detention camps] by John Sudworth (May 24, 2022) ''BBC''.</ref>

Since 2017, government authorities in China have implemented oppressive policies against the {{wpl|Uyghurs|Uyghur population}}{{efn|Also spelled 'Uighur'}} in the province of Xinjiang. Since then, accusations that authorities in China are committing cultural genocide against the Uyghurs have been piling up.<ref>[https://theconversation.com/despite-chinas-denials-its-treatment-of-the-uyghurs-should-be-called-what-it-is-cultural-genocide-120654 Despite China’s denials, its treatment of the Uyghurs should be called what it is: cultural genocide]</ref><ref>[https://qz.com/1892791/a-consensus-is-growing-that-chinas-uyhgurs-face-genocide/ On Xinjiang, even those wary of Holocaust comparisons are reaching for the word “genocide"]</ref> Under the leadership of {{wpl|Chen Quanguo||,}} Xinjiang has become a surveillance state.{{efn|Chen Quanguo has worked in [[Tibet]] before and oppressed the Tibetan people.}} It is estimated by some NGOs and academic scholars that there may be as many as one million people in these internment camps.<ref>[https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/09/china-up-to-one-million-detained/ "Up to One Million Detained in China's Mass Re-Education Drive",] Amnesty International, September 2018</ref> In September 2020, a group of 23 organizations sent a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) urging them to launch an investigation into the CCP's crimes against humanity and genocide in Xinjiang-<ref>[https://docs.uhrp.org/pdf/UyghurGenocideJointOpenLetter_2020-09-14.pdf Open Letter of Concern to Governments on Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide Against Uyghurs in China]</ref> an idea that was directly opposed by a joint statement from 50 nations.<ref>[https://jamestown.org/program/the-22-vs-50-diplomatic-split-between-the-west-and-china-over-xinjiang-and-human-rights/ The “22 vs. 50” Diplomatic Split Between the West and China Over Xinjiang and Human Rights]</ref>  The situation has often been compared to previous [[genocide]]s like [[Australia]]'s {{wpl|Stolen Generations||,}} the [[US]], [[Canada]], and [[Mexico]]’s [[Native American genocides]], the Soviet Union’s [[Holodomor]], and Nazi Germany's [[Holocaust]].<ref>[https://qz.com/1892791/a-consensus-is-growing-that-chinas-uyhgurs-face-genocide/ On Xinjiang, even those wary of Holocaust comparisons are reaching for the word “genocide”]. ''Quartz.''</ref>

Genocide Watch, an organization dedicated to tracking and preventing genocide around the world, has issued a Genocide Warning for China and lists it at Stage 8 (Persecution) of the Ten Stages of Genocide.<ref>[https://www.genocidewatch.com/china China- Genocide watch]</ref> This was upgraded to a Genocide Emergency and Stage 9 (Extermination) in 2020, based on evidence of forced sterilization and forcible transfer of children.<ref>[https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/genocide-emergency-alert-for-xinjiang-china GENOCIDE EMERGENCY ALERT FOR XINJIANG, CHINA]</ref>

==Backgrounds==
[[File:Kokbayraq flag.svg|thumb|right|250px|Flag of East Turkestan, still associated with the Xinjiang independence movement.]]
{{cquote|Those who should be seized should be seized, and those who should be sentenced should be sentenced.|||Xi Jinping, 2014<ref>[https://uyghurtribunal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/The-Xinjiang-Papers-An-Introduction-1.pdf The Xinjiang Papers: An Introduction] by Adrian Zenz (November 27, 2021) ''Uyghur Tribunal''.</ref>}}
{{cquote|Round up everyone who should be rounded up.|||Chen Quanguo, 2017<ref name="NYT"/>}}
The {{wpl|Xinjiang conflict}} dates back centuries to the Qing Dynasty, which created the entity of Xinjiang in 1884 by merging two distinctively separate entities, the northern Dzungaria, mostly inhabited by the Mongol Buddhist Oirats, and the southern Tarim Basin, mostly inhabited by the Turkic Muslim Uyghurs. Centuries earlier, the Qing Emperors fought a series of wars against the Oirats, committed genocide, dwindled their population, and resettled the region with Han, Hui, Manchus, and Uyghurs. Such migrations and resettlement of peoples brought further problems over ethnic identity, as the Uyghurs believe that they are native to the region for thousands of years while the Han Chinese argued that the Chinese had long controlled the region before the ancestors of the Uyghurs arrived in the 9th century.<ref>Gladney, Dru C. "The Chinese Program of Development and Control, 1978–2001". In Starr (2004), pp. 101–119.</ref>

After the Qing Dynasty fell, the region was controlled by a series of warlords, which eventually led to the establishment of the {{wpl|First East Turkestan Republic}} in 1933 on the outskirts of Tarim Basin before it was overthrown by Soviet warlord Sheng Shicai in 1934. Sheng, a protege of [[Joseph Stalin]], established a pro-Soviet regime and instituted a series of purges. Sheng was also influenced by the Soviet nationality policy and also introduced some arbitrary ethnic divisions,<ref>Rahman, Anwar (2005). Sinicization Beyond the Great Wall: China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Kibworth Beauchamp: Troubador Publishing Ltd.</ref> and officially using the term "Uighur" to describe different Turkic Muslim groups{{efn|Before this, Turkic and Uyghur were used interchangeably to describe the Turkic population of the region.}}<ref>Millward, James A. (2007). Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang. London: Hurst Publishers.</ref> Sheng also conflicted with the rival Ma clique backed by the Hui Muslims and the Kuomintang government, and a smaller ethnic conflict between the Hui and Uyghurs exist to this day. 

Sheng eventually turned against the USSR after [[World War II]] occurred and the Soviets turned their attention elsewhere, and attempted to reconcile with the KMT regime, which responded by disposing of Sheng. The Soviets helped found the {{wpl|Second East Turkestan Republic}} in northern Dzungaria in 1944, which {{wpl|Ili Rebellion|fought against the KMT}}, before being incorporated into Communist China in 1949 in the [[Chinese Civil War]], and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) was established in 1955. It's worth noting that the Chairmen of XUAR (governors) are mostly filled by Uyghurs, while the CCP Secretaries, who hold greater political power, are usually filled by Han Chinese.

The region saw a population decline during the late 1950s as a result of the disastrous {{wpl|Great Leap Forward}}. Following the {{wpl|Sino-Soviet split}}, the Soviets funded several Uyghur separatist groups which heavily promoted Uyghur nationalism such as the {{wpl|East Turkestan People's Revolutionary Party}}<ref>Bellér-Hann, Ildikó, ed. (2007). Situating the Uyghurs Between China and Central Asia. Ashgate.</ref> and encouraged emigration to the Kazakh SSR and revolts against the CCP.<ref>Bovingdon, Gardner (2010). The Uyghurs: Strangers in Their Own Land. Columbia University Press.</ref> In response, the CCP relocated non-Han groups from the border region as a defense strategy and replaced them with Han migrants, and by the 1970s, Han migration in Xinjiang drastically increased from 7% to 40%<ref>[https://geog.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/users/fan/403.pdf Migration and Inequality in Xinjiang: A Survey of Han and Uyghur Migrants in Urumqi] Anthony Howell and C. Cindy Fan.</ref> In fear of Soviet encirclement and earlier Soviet support of Uyghur separatism, the Chinese returned the favor in the [[Soviet-Afghanistan War]] by hosting Afghan Mujahideen training camps in Xinjiang.<ref>Shichor, Yitzhak. "The Great Wall of Steel Military and Strategy in Xinjiang". In Starr (2004), pp. 120–162.</ref>

With the fall of the USSR, secular Uyghur independence movements were gradually replaced by those influenced by [[Islamism]], such as East Turkestan Islamic Movement, (now called {{wpl|Turkistan Islamic Party}}).<ref>Patrick, Shawn M. (2010). [https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a523195.pdf The Uyghur Movement: China's Insurgency in Xinjiang]. School of Advanced Military Studies. 20 May, 2010.</ref> They were involved in a series of [[Terrorism|terrorist]] attacks during the 1990s and 2000s, and founded training camps in [[Afghanistan]] and later [[Syria]]. 

The {{wpl|July 2009 Ürümqi riots}} proved to be a turning point for CCP policy in the region. It began as a protest over the treatment of Uyghur migrant workers but quickly turned into ethnic riots against Han and Hui civilians before being suppressed by military police. With the ascension of [[Xi Jinping]] in 2012, military presence in the region has grown, and the {{wpl|Strike Hard Campaign Against Violent Terrorism}} was launched, further eroding the civil liberties of the Uyghurs, such as banning hijabs and long beards. This is supposedly due to growing concerns over foreign jihadists returning from the [[Syrian Civil War]] and several terrorist attacks by the Turkestan Islamic Party,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/strike-hard-01092014172927.html|title=China Steps Up 'Strike Hard' Campaign in Xinjiang|website=Radio Free Asia|language=en|access-date=2018-12-02|url-status=live}}</ref> but Uyghurs are often scapegoated by police and Han civilians for crimes committed by non-Uyghur Turkic peoples such as Kazakhs and Uzbeks. Another campaign was the {{wpl|Civil Servant-Family Pair Up}}, which encouraged Uyghurs to lodge with CCP cadres in order to instill party propaganda, and over a million people have done so.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://apnews.com/9ca1c29fc9554c1697a8729bba4dd93b|title=China's Uighurs told to share beds, meals with party members|last1=Kang|first1=Dake|date=November 30, 2018|work=|access-date=January 18, 2020|url-status=live|agency=Associated Press|last2=Wang|first2=Yanan}}</ref> 

It's worth noting that many of the religious restrictions imposed upon the Uyghurs do not apply to the Hui Muslims, who are better integrated into Chinese society and often seen by the party as a {{wpl|model minority}},<ref>{{cite news |last=Crane |first=Brent |date=22 August 2014 |title = A Tale of Two Chinese Muslim Minorities |work = The Diplomat |url = http://thediplomat.com/2014/08/a-tale-of-two-chinese-muslim-minorities/ |access-date=25 June 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and in turn, the Hui are generally more supportive of CCP policies. The old ethnic conflict dating back to the days of the Ma clique doesn't help matters.

==Evidence==
[[File:China patrol Urumqi.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|Chinese state security patrol in Urumqi.]]
Here is a list of evidence of [[human rights]] abuses in Xinjiang.

===Arbitrary detention===
Uyghurs are sent into the camps if they "[are] on the edge of committing a [[crime]]".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmId2ZP3h0c Inside China's "thought transformation camps" by BBC]</ref> They are also sent to the camps for other reasons like downloading a video that said Uyghurs who joined the Communist Party were [[No True Scotsman|not true]] [[Muslims]], taking part in [[Thoughtcrime|"illegal"]] [[Qur'an]] classes, [[Evangelicalism|"forcing"]] their parents to [[pray]], watching an anti-Chinese video, and downloading a video to remind them to pray daily.<ref>[https://nationalpost.com/news/canadian-went-to-china-to-debunk-reports-of-anti-muslim-repression-but-was-shocked-by-treatment-of-uyghurs Canadian went to China to debunk reports of anti-Muslim repression, but was 'shocked' by treatment of Uyghurs]</ref>

====Unfair trials====
Uyghur "[[Bullshit|terrorists]]" were given a list of 70 crimes (usually minor infractions) to pick from and admit to them. They were not given a lawyer at all during their trial. If they did not pick their crime, they would stay in a detention center forever. Although the evidence is testimony-based, all of the testimonies confirm each other.<ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/china-convicts-uighurs-in-sham-trials-at-xinjiang-camps/a-53699982 China convicts Uighurs in sham trials at Xinjiang camps]</ref>

====Karakax list====
The Karakax list is an extremely detailed list of people who were interned in the camps and the reasons why.<ref>[https://www.jpolrisk.com/karakax/ The Karakax List: Dissecting the Anatomy of Beijing’s Internment Drive in Xinjiang] by Adrian Zenz (2020) ''Journal of Political Risk'' 8(2).</ref> These Uyghurs have been interned for reasons such as wearing a [[hijab]], travelling, accessing foreign websites, applying for a passport, and having too many children, born after 1990, and relatives living abroad.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFJ5zXjdD5U How China targets Muslims for reeducation camps- and spies on their families]</ref><ref name="DW News Uighur evidence">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UMT7RUaXBk New evidence for China's Uighur prison system | DW News]</ref> The Karakax list is one of the strongest pieces of evidence that proves China is detaining Uyghurs based on [[religion]], culture, and having too many children. However, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) [[propaganda]] mouthpiece ''Global Times'' attempts to [[denialism|deny]] the authenticity of the document while [[doublethink|simultaneously justifying it]].<ref>[https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1180051.shtml 'Leaked' Xinjiang files likely cooked up by foreign intel agencies]</ref> Apart from that, the authenticity of the document has been confirmed by Rian Thum, and Uyghur [[whistleblowers]] like Abduweli Ayup have confirmed it too.

===Estimate of at least one million Uyghurs in camps===
[[File:Chen Quanguo.jpg|thumb|right|200px|{{wpl|Chen Quanguo|}}, CCP Secretary of Xinjiang and architect of the concentration camp policy.]]
Several human rights organizations, scholars, media outlets, and government agencies have estimated that there are up to one million Uyghurs (or possibly higher, depending on the source) that have been detained in these camps:
*The NGO China Human Rights Defenders has interviewed 8 Uyghurs from 8 different villages, asking them for an estimate of the number of detainees in each village. The detention rates ranged from 8-20%, and the average was 12.8% across these 8 villages. The numbers that the interviewees gave were similar to the numbers on official Chinese government documents.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200110030659/https://twitter.com/adrianzenz/status/1211795091863547905P.P.S.: CGTN chides the @CHRDnet study for estimating 1 million detainees based on only 8 interviews. Indeed a tiny sample size. But ironically, the internment shares estimated by those 8 locals are not far off from the internment shares reported by 3 townships, also from Kashgar] by  Adrian Zenz (3:43 PM - 30 Dec 2019) ''Twitter'' (archived from January 10, 2020).</ref> In the end, they conservatively estimated a 10% detention rate. Afterwards, they extrapolated this detention rate to the entire Uyghur population of ca. 10 million people.<ref>[https://www.nchrd.org/2020/08/chrd-stands-firmly-by-estimate-of-one-million-uyghurs-detained/ CHRD stands firmly by estimate of 1 million Uighurs detained]</ref> However, [[webshites]] like ''[[The Grayzone]]'' [[strawman]] their argument by [[Cherrypicking|conveniently omitting]] that each of the villagers came from a different village. They also [[Genetic fallacy|mention that they are funded by]] the {{wpl|National Endowment for Democracy||,}} an American NGO, and this somehow invalidates their research.<ref>[https://thegrayzone.com/china-detaining-millions-uyghurs-problems-claims-us-ngo-researcher China detaining millions of Uyghurs? Serious problems with claims by US-backed NGO and researcher]</ref>
*German researcher {{wpl|Adrian Zenz}} also came to this conclusion. Firstly, he found out that 892,000 people in 68 different counties were imprisoned. This number has come from a Chinese government official, and he also gave it to Istiqlal TV.<ref>[https://www.newsweekjapan.jp/stories/world/2018/03/89-3_1.php Newsweek Japan]</ref>{{efn|Grayzone doubts this number as Istiqlal TV is biased towards Xinjiang separatists.}} He realised that a lot of major population centers are missing from the data. Then, he applied the detention rate of 12.3% in minority-majority areas.
*In China's white papers, they claimed that the "regional government organised 'employment-oriented training' and labour skills for nearly 1.3 million workers a year from 2014 to 2019". Some believe that these are Xinjiang's re-education camps as they have used similar terminology to describe them.<ref>[https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3101986/china-claims-vocational-training-given-nearly-13-million-people China defends its 'vocational training centres' in Xinjiang White Paper]</ref>{{efn|CCP propagandists make fun of people who mistakenly assume that it is 1.3 million people every year and hence 8 million Uyghurs; keep in mind it is close to the total population of Uyghurs in China.<ref>{{wpa|Uyghurs}}</ref>}}
*There are at least 94 confirmed re-education camps, meaning that at least 10 thousand people are in each camp.<ref>[https://medium.com/@shawnwzhang/list-of-re-education-camps-in-xinjiang-%E6%96%B0%E7%96%86%E5%86%8D%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E9%9B%86%E4%B8%AD%E8%90%A5%E5%88%97%E8%A1%A8-99720372419c List of re-education camps in Xinjiang]</ref>However, Buzzfeed found out that the Chinese government has built 260 re-education camps since 2017.<ref>[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/meghara/china-new-internment-camps-xinjiang-uighurs-muslims China Secretly Built A Vast New Infrastructure To Imprison Muslims]</ref>
*There is evidence that a lot of people are put in these camps. An AFP study found out that the vocational education bureau in Hotan County ordered 194,000 Chinese language practice books and 11,310 pairs of shoes.<ref>[https://www.afp.com/en/inside-chinas-internment-camps-tear-gas-tasers-and-textbooks Inside China's internment camps: Tear gas, tasers and textbooks]</ref>{{efn|[[Holocaust|Now where can you find a big pile of shoes?]]}}
*Apart from that, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute analysed 28 facilities and found out that they occupy over 2.7 million square meters of space.<ref>[https://www.aspi.org.au/report/mapping-xinjiangs-re-education-camps Mapping Xinjiang's 're-education' camps]</ref> Zenz then found out that the estimated occupancy density is 1.5-2 detainees/sq meter.<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/37353916/NEW_Sept_2018_Thoroughly_Reforming_Them_Towards_a_Healthy_Heart_Attitude_Chinas_Political_Re_Education_Campaign_in_Xinjiang Here is the PDF]</ref>
*The number of arrests in Xinjiang increased by 700% in 2016-2017. It accounted for 21% of China's total arrests.<ref>[https://www.nchrd.org/2018/07/criminal-arrests-in-xinjiang-account-for-21-of-chinas-total-in-2017/ Criminal Arrests in Xinjiang Account for 21% of China’s Total in 2017]</ref>
*[[BBC]] analysed satellite images and found out that 44 of them had the potential to be re-education camps. One of the camps in Dabancheng had the potential to house at least 11,000 detainees and at most 130,000 detainees. The low estimate assumes that each person has his/her own room, and the high estimate assumes that there are dormitories instead of individual rooms.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/China_hidden_camps China's hidden camps]</ref>
*According to an interview with a police officer by Radio Free Asia, 1 in 6 Uyghurs, or 16% of Uyghurs, are held in camps in Onsu County.<ref>[https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/onsu-08312018155418.html One in Six Uyghurs held in 'Political Re-education Camps in Xinjiang's Onsu County]</ref>
*Quartz has analysed them and found the methodologies to be credible.<ref>[https://qz.com/1599393/how-researchers-estimate-1-million-uyghurs-are-detained-in-xinjiang/ More than 1 million Muslims are detained in China—but how did we get that number?]</ref>
*On July 21, 2021, ''Buzzfeed News'' published an analysis based on satellite images and other documents, suggesting that China has built enough ''space'' to lock up 1 million people in Xinjiang ''at the same time''. The analysis estimated that the detention centers occupy a combined area of more than 206 million square feet. (Due to the widespread reports of overcrowding in Xinjiang detention camps, and the exclusion of detention camps built before 2016 from this analysis, the "million people" estimate may actually be on the low side.) By this time, the number of suspected detention camps had risen to 347.<ref>[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/meghara/china-camps-prisons-xinjiang-muslims-size "China can lock up a million muslims in Xinjiang at once"] by Megha Rajagopalan and Alison Killing, Buzzfeed News, 2021 July 21</ref>

China, naturally, has categorically denied the charges. For instance, in a long article on {{wpl|China Daily}} that begins by citing questionable sources (such as the aforementioned [[authoritarian]] sympathizer [[The Grayzone]] and {{wpl|Australian Alert Service}}, a publication by a minor [[Australian]] political party that was originally was sympathetic to [[Lyndon LaRouche]]<ref>[https://aijac.org.au/australia-israel-review/essay-death-of-a-conspiracy-theorist/ "Essay: Death of a Conspiracy Theorist"] by Judy Maynard, Australia Israel and Jewish Affairs Council]</ref>), China defended itself from the allegations by accusing "the United States and other Western countries" that they were supporting "separatist and terrorist activities in Xinjiang out of geopolitical purposes", and attempted character assassinations and other [[Argumentum ad hominem|ad hominem]] attacks on many of the sources creating the estimates, such as Zenz.<ref>[https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202104/30/WS608b4036a31024ad0babb623.html "Things to Know about All the Lies on Xinjiang: How Have They Come About?"] by China Daily, 2021-04-30</ref> 

In this and other Chinese [[propaganda]] on this issue, usually the articles refrained from criticizing the methodology that those estimating the detention size used. (This is probably because the estimates are being concocted based on readily available information. A reporter for {{wpl|New Yorker}} and other media named Ben Mauk examined Zenz's data and determined that much of the data used for Zenz's reports was obtained from China's own government reports, public construction documents, and other readily available public sources.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200727132629/https://twitter.com/benmauk/status/1287736900124631042 "Zenz is quite forthcoming about how he comes to his conclusions. His writing is standard for peer-reviewed academic work, which it doesn't seem like either Grayzone author has read much of. Most of his (dozens or hundreds of) references are gov. reports and state journalism."], @Benmauk, Twitter, tweeted on 2020 July 27, archived on 2020 July 27</ref>) Instead, the typical defense of Chinese propaganda (aside from the ad hominems) have been to claim that these camps are "vocational education and training centers", not [[concentration camps]].<ref>[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202008/27/WS5f470590a310675eafc55bf8.html "Has China set up concentration camps in Xinjiang?"] by China Daily, 2020 August 27</ref> While much of the propaganda dismisses estimates from scholars like Zenz without bothering to provide a number for how many people have been "trained" through these centers, in a white paper created on September 2020, China actually provided one: per the paper, 1.3 million people had been through Xinjiang's "vocational training" scheme annually for six years.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-54195325 "Xinjiang: China defends 'education' camps"], BBC, 2020 September 17</ref>

In July 22, 2021, the {{wpl|Associated Press}} was the first Western media organization allowed to tour one of these facilities, in this case a very large facility in {{wpl|Dabancheng}}, which at the time was named the Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center. While Chinese officials insisted that there was "no connection between our detention center and the training centers", a former construction contractor who visited the Dabancheng facility in 2018 told the AP that the same building was previously known as the “Urumqi Vocational Skills Education and Training Center,” and it had been converted to a detention facility in 2019.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/business-religion-china-only-on-ap-f89c20645e69208a416c64d229c072de "Room for 10,000: Inside China’s largest detention center"] by Dake Kang, AP News, 2021 July 22</ref>

===Population control===
====Occupation of homes====
Now that you got Uyghurs in camps, what do you do with the empty houses?  Simple, get your own people to occupy the homes!<ref>[https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/postcard/million-citizens-occupy-uighur-homes-xinjiang 1 million citizens occupy Uighur homes]</ref>  Scarily, the strangers require to Uyghurs to refer to them as "relatives", and their job is twofold.  First, to ensure that the Uyghur households are properly [[Indoctrination|indoctrinated]]. Second, to keep a close watch over every private detail of everyone's home life, from the books they read to the words they say. For example, if a Uyghur greets someone with the Arabic phrase ''Assalamu alaykum.'', reads the [[Qu'ran]], grows out their beard, or prays on Friday or [[fasting|fasts]] during [[Ramadan]], these need to be jotted down in their notebook.

====Sexual abuse====
{{main|Rape}}
Chinese officials have been abusing the situation to force Uyghur women to share their beds.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/muslim-china-uighur-forced-share-beds-male-officials-detention-camps-a9185861.html Chinese officials forcing their way into women's beds]</ref> Of course, the officials' stances are that this is all perfectly normal and no officials have been taking advantage of the women. Besides, it's not as if the officials themselves have access to a system that can make people who complain too loudly simply disappear, such as, say, a number of giant concentration camps.

Perhaps more disturbingly, many women are being forced into [[marriage]]s with some of these officials.<ref>[https://uhrp.org/news-commentary/china-coerces-uighur-women-unwanted-marriages Uighur women coerced into unwanted marriages]</ref>  Women who refuse may find themselves or their family members sent to the reeducation camps until they agree, and given the conditions of the camps, it's not out of the realm of possibility that they will be raped or worse there.  As is usual in these cases, there doesn't seem to be too many Uyghur ''men'' being forced into any marriages.  Essentially, the next generation of Uyghurs will be mixed race and the Uyghurs will cease to exist as a distinct ethnic group, and it's unlikely the [[children]] raised in such conditions will be given any education on their non-Han Chinese heritage.

====Forced abortions/sterilizations====
[[File:Chinese government birth control documents in Xinjiang 2019.png|thumb|right|Guma (Pishan) County 2019 family planning targets for birth prevention measures among pastoralist and farming populations.<ref>[http://archive.is/F86ts Click to download]</ref><ref name="adrianzenzmedium" />]]
China has lowered the birth rates of the Uyghur population through sterilizations, forced [[abortion]]s, and forced [[birth control]].<ref>[https://apnews.com/269b3de1af34e17c1941a514f78d764c From AP]</ref> [[Pregnancy]] checks are now routine, which is a major privacy violation to say the least. Refusal to comply with any of this may result in being sent for "re-education". A family having too many children, which is basically any more than two kids per family, is another reason for being sent away, and former detainees have testified that they underwent forced sterilization. If these testimonies turn out to be true, this proves that genocide is taking place.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZejLYkCZ3c What is happening to the Uighurs? Exiled Uighurs push for ‘genocide’ investigation - BBC Newsnight]</ref> One doctor has confirmed that a Uyghur refugee has been forcibly sterilized.<ref>[https://www.lalibre.be/international/asie/un-medecin-belge-m-a-appris-que-j-avais-ete-sterilisee-en-chine-cela-a-ete-un-choc-je-l-ignorais-5f2db48ad8ad58621915c5f3#.Xy6Sdj2O2To.facebook Des femmes ouïghoures témoignent des violences subies dans leurs entrailles: "Un médecin belge m’a appris que j’avais été stérilisée en Chine. Je l’ignorais…"(French)]</ref> Another Uyghur gynecologist, who fled to Turkey in 2011, claimed that China's policy of forcibly inserting {{wpl|IUDs}} (without the women consenting or even knowing what was happening) had been enacted since at least 1980, and she alone sometimes performed up to 80 sterilization surgeries a day.<ref>[https://japan-forward.com/exiled-gynecologist-reveals-details-of-chinas-forced-sterilization-of-uyghur-women/ "Exiled Gynecologist Reveals Details of China’s Forced Sterilization of Uyghur Women"] by Takao Sato, JapanForward, 2021 April 14</ref>

A handful of Chinese documents suggest that the Chinese government is using birth prevention on the Uyghurs. The document on the right shows the CCP attempting to suppress Uyghur birth rates in pastoralist and farming populations.<ref name="adrianzenzmedium" /> 

On June 29<sup>th</sup> 2020, an AP investigation also found strong evidence for the "demographic genocide". Even while the use of IUDs and sterilization had fallen nationwide during that year, it was rising sharply in Xinjiang. According to the report, having too many children, or failure to comply with being assigned to get a sterilization procedure, was a significant reason for Uyghurs being sent to the concentration camps.<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-uighur-muslims-forced-birth-control-demographic-genocide-experts-tell-ap/ "China using widespread forced birth control on Uighurs and other minorities, AP finds"], CBS News, 2020 June 29</ref>

'''Note''': These activities may need to be understood in the context of China's [[one-child policy]]. This poorly managed social engineering policy, combined with a cultural preference for sons, resulted in Chinese women getting sex-selective [[abortion|abortions]] of female fetuses, abandoning baby girls in orphanages, or even the outright murder of female infants. Whatever the method, the clear result is a severe shortage of women in the current generation, leading to a lot of unrest among the tens of millions of men who simply will never find wives or be able to start their own families.  China's solution to this problem may be to simply dump this problem on someone else.  In this lens, the "threat of violence" from the Uighurs is merely a convenient excuse; even if the Uighurs were to somehow overnight become pacified, model Chinese citizens, the concentration camps and forced marriages would still continue because this a war over women that's only thinly disguised as some sort of "defensive" action.  In short, the destruction of an ethnic minority isn't the goal, it's just a side effect, and one could argue that "atrocity as a result of indifference" is actually ''worse''.

===Camp conditions===
{{cquote|I spent seven days of hell there. My hands were handcuffed, my legs were tied. They threw me in a pit. I raised both my hands and looked above. At that moment, they poured water. I screamed. I don't know how long I was in the pit but it was winter and very cold. They said I was a traitor, that I had dual citizenship, that I had a debt and owned land.|||Orynbek Koksybek, camp survivor.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47157111 Uighur crackdown: 'I spent seven days of hell in Chinese camps']. ''BBC News.''</ref>}}
Here are a list of videos, data, testimonies, and leaked documents regarding the nature of the camps.

====Leaked documents====
Leaked documents obtained by the ''[[New York Times]]'' found out how the camps are operated. For example, the documents state that the "students" were not allowed to leave the schools. Apart from that, the students were told that their behavior could either shorten or extend the detention of their relatives and advised that the camps were for their own good. In order to cheer up the students, they told officials “to show humane concern and stress the rules.” This may make it easier to indoctrinate them. They also made sure to tell the students not to worry. However, the most important thing about the documents is that President [[Xi Jinping]] wants to deal with them with "absolutely no mercy".<ref name="NYT">[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html 'Absolutely No Mercy': Leaked documents expose how China organized mass detentions of Muslims]</ref> And despite [[tankies]] claiming otherwise, the campaign is strongly influenced by America's own [[War on Terror]], with Xi Jinping himself encouraging officials to adopt some of its worst elements.<ref name="NYT"/> Apart from that, the CCP does not deny the legitimacy of the documents.<ref name="cpiml">[http://cpiml.net/liberation/2020/08/chinas-concentration-camps-for-uyghurs-in-chinas-own-words China's Concentration Camps For Uyghurs: In China's Own Words]</ref>

Another set of documents called the China Cables were obtained by the {{wpl|International Consortium of Investigative Journalists||.}} They serve as a manual for how to operate the camps. The manual (actually a telegram) describes certain things in great detail such as how to prevent escapes, how to maintain total secrecy{{efn|This is extremely important as this shows that they are not transparent about the true nature of the camps}}, how to control disease outbreaks{{efn|Proof that the COVID-19 Pandemic does not mean that detainees are released.}}, how detainees can meet their relatives, and how to use the toilet.<ref>[https://www.icij.org/investigations/china-cables/exposed-chinas-operating-manuals-for-mass-internment-and-arrest-by-algorithm/ Exposed: China’s Operating Manuals for Mass Internment and Arrest by Algorithm]</ref> 

The China Cables also contained a nine-page memo for the camp operators ordering them to tighten restrictions. Among the memo's orders were "Increase discipline and punishment of behavioural violations", "Promote repentance and confession", "Make remedial Mandarin studies the top priority", and "[Ensure] full video surveillance coverage of dormitories and classrooms free of blind spots".<ref name="ccables">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50511063 Data leak reveals how China 'brainwashes' Uighurs in prison camps]. ''BBC News.''</ref> The memo also contains the sinister directive, "For those who harbour vague understandings, negative attitudes or even feelings of resistance... carry out education transformation to ensure that results are achieved."<ref name="ccables"/>

These documents are important as they corroborate the testimonies of former detainees (shown below) and are extremely consistent. Bring that up when someone screeches "NAYIRAH!!!!!!!!"

====White papers====
The white papers released by the Chinese government are further proof something is wrong in Xinjiang.<ref>[http://english.www.gov.cn/archive/white_paper/2019/03/18/content_281476567813306.htm A full read of the white papers here.]</ref> An analysis by the Communist Party of [[India]]'s official website shows that its "anti-terrorism" policy is similar to the [[Islamophobic]] and [[authoritarian]] policies after [[9/11]].{{efn|No, it's still not an inside job.}} Apart from that, its policy of preventing crime is similar to America's method of policing black-majority neighborhoods.<ref name="cpiml"/>

====Prison footage====
[[File:Uighur camp leaked footage.jpeg|thumb|right|325px|Leaked drone footage of blindfolded and shackled prisoners.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/23/china-footage-reveals-hundreds-of-blindfolded-and-shackled-prisoners-uighur China footage reveals hundreds of blindfolded and shackled prisoners]. ''The Guardian.''</ref>]]
{{main|Prison}}
Although the camps are portrayed to look like wonderful schools, the camps that they don't show to the public function more like prisons. Footage captured by Bitter Winter in a camp shows that the re-education camps are designed like prisons. Each of the exterior windows is fitted with a lot of guard railings and guard netting, and the facilities are filled with surveillance cameras and have large surveillance rooms.{{efn|Even guided tour camps have a lot of cameras.}} Every room has surveillance cameras, even the toilets. There are also propaganda slogans on the walls such as "Heartfelt thanks for the cordial care of the Central Party Committee with comrade Xi Jinping", "make a habit of studying Mandarin", and "Follow the guidance of Xi Jinping's thought on [[socialism]] with Chinese characteristics for a new era and untiringly strive to realize the China dream of a great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation". Finally, there are areas surrounded by chain-linked fencing and a pile of unused wire netting.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQHuOfKgNsI A Jail by Any Other Name: Xinjiang Re-education Camp for Uyghurs — Exclusive Report by Bitter Winter]</ref>

Apart from that, their builders told Bitter Winter that they have been built on a prison model. Furthermore, there have been pictures that show factories inside "transformation through education" camps.<ref>[https://bitterwinter.org/xinjiang-camps-were-built-as-prisons/ Xinjiang Camps Were Built as Prisons, Their Builders Expose]</ref>{{efn|Transformation through education is most likely a [[euphemism]] for re-education camps.}}

One of the workers in a re-education camp, 'Mr. Liu' (a pseudonym), occasionally referred to his workplace as a "prison". According to Liu, "Too many people are locked up here and perhaps, because of that, [they will] feel short on manpower. [Their] rotating time-off days are often cancelled, and [they] seldom get to take breaks. [Liu doesn't] know how much longer this high-pressure situation will continue.' He also explained that the camps have a quota to fill. If the Uyghurs in the region cannot fill up the camps, they will send religious people instead.<ref name="bitter winter">[https://bitterwinter.org/staff-member-uncovers-details-of-a-camp/ "Studies in prison": Staff member uncovers details of a camp]</ref>

Evidence that proves that the camps are like prisons/function like prisons further validate testimonies from former detainees.<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/china-camps-for-muslims-look-like-jail-cells-in-purported-video-2018-11 Shocking footage purportedly shows cells inside prison camp where China oppresses Muslim minority]</ref>

====Forced labor====
As early as 2018, reports emerged that forced labor was a common feature in the concentration camps. China, of course denied that anything was forced, calling the camps "vocational training centers". Reports, if true, show that the purpose was clearly not vocational, but subjugation. Even those with high skill sets, such as businessmen, health professionals, scientists, or intellectuals, were forced into sweatshops to make garments. 
Prisoners
 "Workers" were subject to electronic monitoring at all times (cameras were even placed in bathrooms). Ethnic workers, who were referred to in policy documents as "surplus workers" who had "lazy thinking", were shacked, handcuffed, locked in their cubical workspace, and of course, not compensated for any work. Glorification of the Communist Party was, of course, mandatory as well. This caused concern that products made in Xinjiang, such as cotton (more than 20% of the world's cotton comes from the Uyghur region) and garments, could violate international regulations on using products made by coersion. Given the complexity of the global supply chain, there was concern that corporations ''wouldn't even know'' that the material they used was made by a form of modern [[slavery]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/16/world/asia/xinjiang-china-forced-labor-camps-uighurs.html "China’s Detention Camps for Muslims Turn to Forced Labor"] by Chris Buckley and Austin Ramzy, New York Times, 2018 December 16</ref><ref>[https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/12/11/cotton-china-uighur-labor-xinjiang-new-slavery/ "Xinjiang’s New Slavery"] by Adrian Zenz, Foreign Policy, 2019 December 11</ref><ref>[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-15/uyghur-forced-labour-xinjiang-china/11298750?nw=0 "Cotton On and Target investigate suppliers after forced labour of Uyghurs exposed in China's Xinjiang"] by Sophie McNeill, Jeanavive McGregor, Meredith Griffiths, Michael Walsh, Echo Hui, and Bang Xiao, ABC News Australia, 2019 July 16</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/09/cotton-slave-labor-uyghur-region-china "There’s a good chance your cotton T-shirt was made with Uyghur slave labor"] by Jewher Ilham, Guardian, 2021 April 9</ref><ref>[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/alison_killing/xinjiang-camps-china-factories-forced-labor "The Factories in the Camps"] by Alison Killing and Megha Rajagopalan, Buzzfeed News, 2020 December 28</ref>

Beginning around 2020, many brands were under pressure from NGOs and concerned customers to stop using cotton from the Xinjiang region. Companies that announced any sort of supply review, however, took the risk of being subject to Chinese "[[cancel culture]]" for having the audacity to not use Chinese products made with slave labor. As an example, in March 24, 2021, the Communist Youth League (who are well connected to the Chinese government, and showed that Chinese authorities played a large part in stoking up the mob) took a months-old statement by {{wpl|H&M}} expressing concern over the use of forced labor in Xinjiang cotton, and whipped up a nationalism-fueled boycott. Naturally, a social media mob followed, expanding to include many other western brands. Users on the Chinese Twitter-like social media site {{wpl|Sina Weibo|Weibo}} shared "national pride" videos consisting of them burning {{wpl|Nike, Inc.|Nike}} shoes. H&M products were wiped from Chinese e-commerce stores.<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/hm-boycott-wiped-from-internet-china-2021-3 "H&M was wiped from the internet in China, sending a chilling warning to other retailers"] by Katie Canales, Business Insider, 2021 March 30</ref> This left many multinational companies in a bind. In one sign of the corporate conflict, a spokesperson for the Chinese operation of {{wpl|Hugo Boss}} expressed support for Xinjiang cotton. Shortly afterwords, a spokesperson for the international operation of Hugo Boss declared the post "unauthorized" and expressed concern over allegations of forced labor.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/china/h-m-nike-boycott-china-uighur-abuse-b1822146.html "Chinese customers burn their Nikes as brands face backlash for stand on Uighur forced labour"] by Mayank Aggarwal, Independent, 2021 March 25</ref><ref>[https://www.economist.com/business/2021/03/27/china-boycotts-western-clothes-brands-over-xinjiang-cotton "China boycotts Western clothes brands over Xinjiang cotton"], Economist, 2021 March 27</ref>

[[File:CCTV Propaganda Tour.jpg|thumb|This is a section in CCTV's propaganda tour around a re-education camp.<ref name="whatsonweibo cctv />]]

====Staged tours====
A majority of the footage has come from staged tours. The CCP has attempted to portray the camps as schools where Uyghurs can learn different jobs. The Uyghurs usually dance and sing folk songs. However, there are several incidents where Uyghurs learn CCP propaganda, such as copying the lyrics of "I Love Beijing Tiananmen" on a computer. Although this is normal in most Chinese schools (which indoctrinate Chinese children with CCP propaganda), this shows that the Chinese government treats them like children. They also sing nursery-level songs like "If you're happy and you know it" in the camps.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwaNEQcocpU The 10 Biggest China Stories of 2019 (Go to 7:43)]</ref> The majority of the [[YouTube]] comments in BBC's video were negative towards the camps and chastised them for being "creepy" and "spooky". This is similar to the reaction of a handful Chinese netizens on {{wpl|Weibo}}, a Chinese (and [[Censorship|censored]]) version of [[Twitter]]. One netizen used [[sarcasm]] and said:
{{cquote|This is quite fantastic! Do they get winter- and summer holidays? When can they graduate? Can we visit there? And will we come out alive if we do?}}
Another said, in a sarcastic tone, 
{{cquote|What a great educational programme, we should implement it all across the country, so that we can all be treated this well!}}
One more netizen said that:
{{cquote|Xinjiang’s present-day is Ningxia’s tomorrow.{{efn|Ningxia is a Muslim-dominated province.}}}}
It should be noted that some of the comments on the video are positive towards the camps, with some describing [[Islam]] as a [[Islamophobia|disease]].<ref name="whatsonweibo cctv">[https://www.whatsonweibo.com/cctv-airs-program-on-xinjiangs-vocational-training-centers-criticism-weibo-responses/ CCTV Airs Program on Xinjiang’s ‘Vocational Training Centers’: Criticism & Weibo Responses]</ref>

Adrian Zenz also made a rebuttal on the thread. He noticed that the facial and body expressions did not match what they were saying, only showed the upper part of the facility, reciting the propaganda word by word, and the Xinjiang minister felt nervous.<ref>[https://twitter.com/adrianzenz/status/1052795385545142272 Adrian Zenz thread on CCTV]</ref>

The majority of staged tours have a lot in common:
*They focus on specific camps (e.g Hotan and Kashgar camps) and not suspicious ones. An example would be the re-education camp in Yining province that is way more guarded and prison-like.
*Chinese state media carefully omit all the negative things in the camps. Most mainstream media show the same thing, but they occasionally show the poor living conditions and mass surveillance in the camps. 
*They only show their "re-educated" prisoners.

Some people have compared these camps to {{wpl|Theresienstadt Ghetto||,}} which at one time was used as a [[Potemkin village]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201006201355/https://twitter.com/adrianzenz/status/1313515786011578369 Theresienstadt had an all-Jewish symphony orchestra.] by Adrian Zenz (09:25 - 6. Oct. 2020) ''Twitter'' (archived from October 6, 2020).</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201019071054/https://twitter.com/oftosa/status/1081866160092504064 Didn’t Hitler do something like that with a Red Cross visit in 1944 to the Theresienstadt concentration camp?] by @oftosa (Jan 6, 2019) ''Twitter'' (archived from October 19, 2020).</ref>

===Cultural genocide===
====Beards====
Abnormally long beards are banned in Xinjiang because they supposedly breed terrorism, and people with long beards can be banned from riding public buses. In fact, a Uyghur man was sentenced for having a long beard.<ref>[https://bitterwinter.org/uyghur-man-sentenced-for-keeping-a-beard/ Uyghur Man Sentenced for Keeping a Beard]</ref> A handful of [[Tankie|CCP apologists]] will attempt to justify this by claiming that [[terrorists]] usually have unusually long beards and this fashion normalizes [[extremist]] ideas. By that logic, [[Skinhead|Skinhead culture]] and bald heads should be banned because they normalize [[Neo-Nazism]].<ref>[https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/karamay-08062014182306.html Xinjiang city bans beards, Islamic dresses from public buses]</ref>

====Mosques====
An investigation by ''[[The Guardian]]'' and Bellingcat suggests that China is working on demolishing Uyghur mosques and shrines. One notable example would be the Imam Asim Shrine, which is a group of buildings and fences surrounding a small mud tomb believed to have the remains of a holy Islamic warrior from the 8<sup>th</sup> century CE. [[Pilgrimage|Pilgrims]] from all around the region would go there and find the site. However, it was completely gone on April 2019. In addition, 31 more mosques and 2 more shrines have been destroyed in Xinjiang.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/03/china-every-day-is-kristallnacht/ In China, every day is Kristallnacht] by Fred Hiatt (November 3, 2019) ''The Washington Post''.</ref><ref>[https://uhrp.org/press-release/demolishing-faith-destruction-and-desecration-uyghur-mosques-and-shrines.html Demolishing Faith: The Destruction and Desecration of Uyghur Mosques and Shrines] (10/28/2019 - 14:00) ''Uyghur Human Rights Project''.</ref>

=====Around China=====
Although there is evidence that China is attempting to destroy mosques in Xinjiang, the Chinese government is also actively "sinicizing" (a [[euphemism]] for assimilation and indoctrination) Islam around China. For example, domes were removed from mosques in Henan, Hebei and Ningxia provinces during the [[COVID-19]] pandemic. Anyone who tried to stop the "sinicization" campaign was arrested. Apart from that, the mosques have increased surveillance as well.<ref>[https://bitterwinter.org/numerous-mosques-sinicized-amid-the-pandemic/ Numerous Mosques ‘Sinicized’ Amid the Pandemic]</ref>

===Social Media ===
In August 2019, several news outlets reported that China was using [[Facebook]] and [[Twitter]] to spread propaganda that Xinjiang's Internment Camps are just super happy fun places, where life is beautiful all the time, ha ha!<ref>[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/chinse-media-facebook-ads-xinjiang-uighur-propaganda "These New Facebook Ads From Chinese State Media Want You To Believe Xinjiang’s Muslim Internment Camps Are Just Great"] by Ryan Mac, BuzzFeed News, 2019 August 20</ref><ref>[https://theintercept.com/2019/08/19/twitter-ads-china-uighurs/ "Twitter Helped Chinese Government Promote Disinformation on Represssion of Uyghurs"] by Ryan Gallagher, Intercept, 2019 August 19</ref> On April 6, 2021, the [[Wall Street Journal]] reported that (typical for Facebook, who will take any advertisement money no matter how crooked) the Chinese government was ''still'' spreading propaganda bullshit through that advertising platform, making some Facebook employees uneasy.<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-internal-tension-china-xinjiang-ads-adverts-uyghurs-2021-4 "Facebook is letting China run state ads denying the abuse of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, and staffers are reportedly raising concerns internally"] by Isobel Asher Hamilton, Business Insider, 2021 April 6</ref>

On March 24<sup>th</sup> 2021, [[Facebook]] said it removed a group of government sponsored China-based hackers (known as EvilEye in cybersecurity circles) that were specifically targeting Uyghur refugees abroad (in particular activists, journalists, and dissidents) in order to add spyware to their electronic devices.<ref>[https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-moves-against-evil-eye-hacking-group-targeting-uyghurs/ "Facebook Moves Against ‘Evil Eye’ Hackers Targeting Uyghurs"] by Lily Hay Newhan, Wired, 2021 March 24</ref><ref>[https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinese-hackers-used-facebook-target-uighurs-abroad-company-says-2021-03-24/ "China-based hackers used Facebook to target Uighurs abroad with malware"] by Raphael Satter and Elizabeth Culliford, Reuters, 2021 March 24</ref>

===Coverup===
These coverups prove three things that show their propaganda fails:
#The CCP is constantly changing the narrative and hence is unreliable (indicative of [[consciousness of guilt]]).
#They use propaganda points ''[[ad nauseam]]'' and [[PRATT|refuted by us in the bottom section]].
#They are unable to explain certain things that contradict their narrative.

====2018====
At first, the CCP denied the camps. Hu Lianhe, a high ranking CCP official, told the UN that “there is no such thing as re-education centers" or "counter-extremism training centers" in Xinjiang.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/world/asia/china-xinjiang-un.html ‘No Such Thing’: China Denies U.N. Reports of Uighur Detention Camps]</ref><ref>[https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1115247.shtml Slandering Xinjiang as "no rights zone" against fact, Chinese officials told UN panel]</ref> The Chinese ministry of foreign affairs has said that they have not heard about these camps.<ref>[https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2018-06-20/reeducation-returns-china Reeducation Returns to China]</ref> However, due to the increasing backlash and evidence, the Chinese government has admitted to the existence of the camps. They tried to frame them as "vocational training centers" for criminals and terrorists. Shohrat Zakir said that "these centers are boarding schools".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMkHcZ5IwjU China's secret internment camps]</ref> Shortly after the CCP admitted to the existence of the camps, they released a documentary about the camps on the Chinese [[propaganda]] network {{wpl|China Central Television|CCTV|.}}<ref name="whatsonweibo cctv" />

====2019====
[[File:Mihrigul Tursun.jpg|thumb|right|285px|Mihrigul Tursun, a former detainee who testified to the US Congress.]]
In 2018, Mihrigul Tursun, a former detainee, testified to the [[US Congress]]. She said that the authorities put a helmet-like thing on her head and electrocuted her. Apart from that, they also made her feel ashamed for being a Uyghur. She also stated that one of her children died and two of her children are in critical health condition.<ref name="Theindependent" /><ref name="Timeuighurs" /> Chinese foreign ministry spokesman {{wpl|Hua Chunying}} denied the accusations and said that she was never sent into a re-education camp. She also claimed that the children were sick due to natural causes.<ref>[https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/t1631149.shtml Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Regular Press Conference on January 21, 2019]</ref>  The only way she could prove this was through (most likely false) testimonies by Mihrigul's alleged mother and alleged brother shown on Chinese state propaganda outlet {{wpl|China Global Television Network|CGTN}}.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsQxjFCh5zU CGTN finds Mihrigul Tursun's claims false]</ref>{{efn|CGTN and its parent company CCTV have a history of airing multiple {{wpl|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CGTN_(TV_channel)#Accessory_to_torture_and_forced_confessions|forced confessions}}. Very reliable.}}

Later on, the CCP attempted to cover up their actions by getting "Uyghur scholars" to attack the American Secretary of state {{wpl|Mike Pompeo}}. It feels suspicious as it is too spontaneous and feels like an [[astroturf]] movement. Apart from that, scholars are usually silenced international affairs like [[9/11]], the [[Iraq War]], the rise of [[ISIS]], the [[Israel]]-[[Palestine]] conflict, [[Brexit]], and the {{wpl|Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster}}. They are also banned from talking about sensitive subjects in Xinjiang, especially the terrorist attacks. In addition, multiple prominent Uyghur scholars have been arbitrarily detained or sent to a re-education camp. About 124 of these famous scholars have been recorded.<ref>[https://bitterwinter.org/uyghur-scholars-defend-the-ccp-really/ “Uyghur Scholars” Defend the CCP—Really?]</ref><ref>[http://uighurtimes.com/index.php/list-of-uyghur-intellectuals-imprisoned-in-china-from-2016-to-the-present/ List of Uyghur intellectuals imprisoned in China from 2016 to the present]</ref>

In December 2019, many Uyghur refugees went on social media and started the #Stillnoinfo campaign in response to China claiming that the camps have been closed. The Chinese government launched a propaganda campaign and pretended that they were lying.<ref name="cgtnpropaganda">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukjwvkP5mbM Crash the #Stillnoinfo rumors: We found her!]</ref> However, it is very likely that they are forced interviews.<ref>[https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/uighurs-us-say-china-using-detained-family-members-forced-interviews Uighurs in US Say China Using Detained Family Members in Forced Interviews]</ref> The creator of the hashtag, Bahram Sintash, believes that the international community will not fall for this propaganda. RFA spoke with Abdullah Rasul, the husband of Halinur’s cousin Raziyegul Ablimit, and said that the CGTN "interview" was most likely fake. Rasul also told Radio Free Asia that Halinur's husband and their child were arbitrarily arrested. Apart from that, her Chinese was very fluent, so there would be no reason for her to go to a camp. Finally, she felt shaky and distressed during the interview.<ref name="cgtnpropaganda" /><ref name="rfastillnoinfo">[https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/campaign-01062020144054.html Chinese Media Campaign to Discredit Movement For Missing Uyghurs Will Fail: #StillNoInfo Founder]</ref> A reminder that other missing Uyghurs, such as the Hamdullah family, also didn't reappear.<ref>[https://bitterwinter.org/missing-uyghurs-do-not-reappear-the-case-of-the-hamdullah-family/ Missing Uyghurs Do Not Reappear: The Case of the Hamdullah Family]</ref>

==Reactions==
Sadly, global reactions to the persecution of Uyghurs are relatively mild, in comparison to the {{wpl|Rohingya genocide}} in [[Burma]] which drew harsh condemnations from across the Muslim world and landed Burma in international courts. This is largely due to China's global economic and political influence, having a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, and that the Uyghur persecution has not devolved into mass killings (yet).

On September 22, 2020, the US government passed {{wpl|Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act|several}} {{wpl|Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act|bills}} condemning China's treatment of the Uyghurs. To [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|nobody's surprise]] however, [[Donald Trump]] privately told Xi Jinping that incarcerating Uyghurs in camps "was exactly the right thing to do".<ref>{{cite news |title=China Lashes Out at U.S.'s Action Against Mass Incarcerations |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/18/world/asia/china-trump-pompeo-xinjiang-uighurs-bolton.html |work=The New York Times |date=18 June 2020}}</ref> Some loonier [[Islamophobia|Islamophobes]] and [[White nationalism|White nationalists]] share Trump's sentiment, who not only do not deny it, but claim that it's the greatest thing ever.

On January 13, 2021, under {{wpl|Mike Pompeo}}, [[Donald Trump]]'s Secretary of State, (in a rare [[stopped clock]] moment and a dramatic reversal from Trump's private thoughts to Xi) Trump's administration banned imports of cotton and tomatoes from the Xinjiang area, citing human rights violations and the widespread use of forced labor in the region.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/business/economy/xinjiang-cotton-tomato-ban.html "U.S. Bans All Cotton and Tomatoes From Xinjiang Region of China"] by Ana Swanson, New York Times, 2021 January 13</ref> The Trump administration also declared China's repression of the Uyghurs as "genocide".<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/world/china/parting-shot-trump-administration-declares-chinas-repression-uighurs-genocide-2021-01-19/ "In parting shot, Trump administration declares China's repression of Uighurs 'genocide'"] by Hurmeyra Pamuk, Reuters, 2021 January 19</ref> The "genocide" claim, in a rare example of something that both [[Republicans]] and [[Democrats]] can agree on, was echoed by the Secretary of State of [[Joe Biden]], {{wpl|Antony Blinken}}, on April 11, 2021.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2021/04/11/biden-secretary-of-state-condemns-chinas-acts-of-genocide-against-muslim-uyghurs/?sh=41b0b0a250ca "Biden Secretary Of State Condemns China’s ‘Acts Of Genocide' Against Muslim Uyghurs" by Jonathan Ponciano, Forbes, 2021 April 11]</ref>

In March 2021, the [[United States]], the [[European Union]], and [[Britain]] slapped sanctions on top Chinese officials as part of a multinational effort to punish Beijing for the genocide.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/22/us/politics/sanctions-china-uighurs.html "U.S. Joins Allies to Punish Chinese Officials for Human Rights Abuses"] by Pranshu Verma, New York Times, 2021 March 22</ref> China responded by sanctioning the lawmakers and academics who dared to pointed it out.

It seems that some people are ''finally'' getting the message by this point, despite an awful initial reaction. In April 2021, the UK government passed a bipartisan, non-binding motion recognising the events in Xinjiang as crimes against humanity and genocide.<ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-lawmakers-declare-china-treatment-of-uyghurs-genocide/ UK lawmakers declare China’s treatment of Uyghurs ‘genocide’], ''POLITICO''</ref> Despite the weak nature of the statement, China are mega-pissed now, but that's been a common occurrence since Xi Jinping so...

On January 20 2022, the parliament of [[France]] passed its own motion asking the government to condemn China for "crimes against humanity and genocide" against its Uyghur minority.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-parliament-passes-motion-condemning-china-genocide-against-uyghurs-2022-01-20/ "French parliament passes motion condemning China 'genocide' against Uyghurs"], Reuters, 2022 January 20</ref>

==Denialism and apologism==
{{denialism}}
===But Adrian Zenz is far-right!===
'''Rebuttal:''' Zenz holds [[far-right]], [[Antisemitism|anti-semitic]], and [[fundamentalist]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lRtSQB3HHJcC&q=jews#v=onepage&q=fiery%20furnace&f=false ''Worthy to Escape: Why All Believers Will Not Be Raptured Before the Tribulation''] by Adrian Zenz & Marlon L. Sias (2012) WestBow Press. ISBN 1449769071.</ref>{{rp|290}} beliefs, but they do not inherently invalidate his research. Given that there have been previous far-right conspiracy theories involving China such as the [[Lab leak theory]], it merely indicates that his research requires significant scrutiny. Even a [[far-right]] person can [[Stopped clock|be occasionally right.]] This is a form of ''ad hominem'' and [[poisoning the well]]. They also claim that he is the only person who talks about this topic (some will [[PIDOOMA|make up big statistics like "90%"]]); this is blatant [[bullshit]] as there are other Xinjiang-related scholars like Timothy Grose, Darren Byler, and Dru Gladney, and many others who cover this topic. Similarly, the support of the Uyghur cause by far-right opportunists like [[Marco Rubio]] and [[Tom Cotton]] in no way invalidates actual testimonies from Uyghur refugees and reputable researchers.

Most of this information comes from [[The Grayzone]], a source that does not have the best track record for accuracy. For example, they [[Cherrypicking|cherrypicked]] several quotes from ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'''s article about Zenz, trying to paint him as some delusional maniac who is [[Hallucination|hallucinating]]. In reality, the article only showed that Zenz was inspired to do research about it, stating "I feel very clearly led by [[God]] to do this. I can put it that way. I’m not afraid to say that. With Xinjiang, things really changed. It became like a mission, or a ministry."<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-german-data-diver-who-exposed-chinas-muslim-crackdown-11558431005 The German Data Diver Who Exposed China’s Muslim Crackdown] by Josh Chin (May 21, 2019 5:30 am ET) ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref>

===Didn't CHRD only interview eight Uyghurs?===
As stated earlier, the Grayzone [[Strawman|strawmanned]] their claim. 

===But Radio Free Asia is US state media!===
'''Rebuttal:''' Communists and tankies also claim that most of the Xinjiang info comes from Radio Free Asia. They will bring up their history of being [[CIA]] propagandists.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/26/archives/worldwide-propaganda-network-built-by-the-cia-a-worldwide-network.html Worldwide propaganda network built by the CIA]</ref> [[Irony|Ironically]], [[hypocrisy|they cite]] a lot of Chinese state media like CGTN, ''Global Times'', ''Xinhua'' and ''China Daily''.

When all else fails, they will talk about how America previously used false pretenses to justify war scenarios (e.g. the {{wpl|Gulf of Tonkin incident}}, {{wpl|Nayirah Testimony}} and [[Weapons of mass destruction|WMDs]].) This is a variant of the [[media was wrong before]] [[fallacy]]. It's worth pointing out that the stories were also independently verified by reputable, non-government funded media such as ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and ''[[The New York Times]]'', which has generally been critical of the US, but has also received criticism for its pro-Zionist whitewashing in the [[Israel#2023-24_Gaza_War|Gaza war]]<ref>[https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/1/nyt_anat_schwartz/]</ref>. In contrast, Chinese state media are subject to official censorship, failed numerous fact checks, and perpetuated lies such as that the "[[silent majority]]" opposed the [[Hong Kong]] protests.<ref>[https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/china-global-television-network-cgtn CGTN-Media Bias Fact Check]</ref><ref>[https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/global-times-china Global Times-Media Bias Fact Check]</ref><ref>[https://www.newsguardtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/GlobalTimes.pdf Global Times Newsguard PDF]</ref>

With all that said, there is nothing wrong with noting that publicizing the human rights abuses of its geopolitical enemies fall in line with US foreign policy, although US criticisms of Chinese policy in Xinjiang were relatively muted until 2020, when relations between the two countries broke down following the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. And even then, it is currently not in the US's interests to wage war or encourage regime change on a nuclear power and one of its major trading partners, however this is becoming more the case as US-China relations continue to deteriorate. In fact, prior to the US government cynically exploiting the situation for its own political purposes, progressive leftists have long pointed out that the Xinjiang authorities has exploited the [[George W. Bush|Bush administration]]'s [[War on Terror]] rhetoric, and used similar [[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]] language to demonize the Uyghurs, something that most leftists, even tankies, rightfully oppose.<ref>[https://lausan.hk/2020/camps-in-xinjiang-global-problem/ The camps in Xinjiang are a global problem] A. Liu. Lausan. November 11, 2020</ref><ref>[https://criticalchinascholars.org/interventions/ Interventions] Critical China Scholars. 19 October 2020</ref>

===IUDs are reversible!===
'''Rebuttal:''' China has had a history of using IUDs as a form of forced contraception, so it's not unlikely that they would be using them again this time on the Uyghurs.<ref>[https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/753485.shtml Forced Contraception]</ref>

===Muslim countries support the camps!===
[[File:Xinjiang policy.png|thumb|Countries that support (orange), oppose (blue) and those, who used to support (purple) the Xinjiang re-education camps]]
[[File:Belt and road countries.png|thumb|Blue countries are in the BRI. Note that most, if not all, of the countries that support the camps are part of the BRI. Some countries that are BRI condemn the camps as they are not that economically dependent.]]
'''Rebuttal:''' Muslims are not a hive mind. A majority of these Muslim countries also happen to be a part of China's {{wpl|Belt and Road Initiative}}, which is a huge red flag since this makes these countries extremely economically dependent on China and are unlikely to criticize it. Apart from that, something seems suspicious when [[Saudi Arabia]], which is one of the biggest sponsors of [[Islamism|Islamic terrorism]] (especially [[Salafist]]/[[Sunni]] terrorism),<ref>[https://wikileaks.org/saudi-cables/ The Saudi Cables]</ref> and which is currently waging a genocidal war in [[Yemen]], claim to supports the destruction of Sunni terrorism. [[Pakistan]] is also a huge ally of China.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/muslim-countries-joined-china-in-defending-its-cultural-genocide-of-uighurs-arent-they-ashamed/2019/07/20/0a7d62b4-aa3f-11e9-86dd-d7f0e60391e9_story.html Muslim countries joined China in defending its cultural genocide of Uighurs. Aren't they ashamed?]</ref>{{efn|In fact, the relationship between the two countries can be [https://www.economist.com/asia/2011/05/12/sweet-as-can-be described] by Pakistan's ambassador to China as "higher than the mountains, deeper than the oceans, stronger than steel, dearer than eyesight, sweeter than honey, and so on."}} Unsurprisingly, both these countries also collaborated with the US's own [[War on Terror]] to stamp out dissent and terrorize their own civilian populations.

Another plausible explanation is that the Uyghurs, being a Turkic people, have strong cultural ties with [[Turkey]], which itself is involved in an {{wpl|Qatar–Saudi Arabia diplomatic conflict|ongoing dispute}} alongside [[Qatar]] and [[Iran]] with the rest of Arab World. This, together with the presence of some {{wpl|Uyghur Jihadist groups}} fighting alongside Turkey-backed groups in the [[Syrian Civil War]], allowed the Uyghurs to be derogated by some as some sorts of Turkish proxies.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/06/implications-qatar-turkey-alliance-170618110726262.html|title=The implications of the Qatar-Turkey alliance|date=18 June 2017|accessdate=18 June 2017}}</ref> And to nobody's surprise, [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] value economic relationships over human rights, and Turkish authorities have been cracking down Uighur dissidents inside Turkey.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/05/asia/turkey-china-uyghur-erdogan-intl-hnk/index.html|title=Erdogan says Xinjiang camps shouldn't spoil Turkey-China relationship|website=[[CNN]]|date=2019-07-02|access-date=2019-07-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717172750/https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/05/asia/turkey-china-uyghur-erdogan-intl-hnk/index.html|archive-date=17 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/turkey-cracks-down-uighur-protesters-after-china-complains |title=Turkey Cracks Down on Uighur Protesters After China Complains &#124; Voice of America - English |format= |accessdate=}}</ref>

===8.7%, not 80%!===
'''Rebuttal:''' This is a flagrant misrepresentation of Zenz's study. An analysis by Darren Byler found out that he was actually looking at the ratio of new IUD insertions (column 3 in the yearbook) as compared to numbers of IUDs removed (column 6). Apart from that, Zenz was looking at changes from 2015-2018. Finally, Byler did a further analysis and found out that the total number of IUDs in XUAR is 45 times higher than the national average, as opposed to other places in China like Henan which had 9 times higher than the national average.<ref>[https://twitter.com/dtbyler/status/1284961927534272512 Darren Byler's Thread]</ref> 

According to Zenz, he calculated the newly inserted IUDs by subtracting the removed IUDs by the total amount.<ref name="adrianzenzmedium">[https://medium.com/@adrianzenz/a-response-to-the-report-compiled-by-lin-fangfei-associate-professor-at-xinjiang-university-bdad4bbb97f9 A Response to the Report Compiled by Lin Fangfei, Associate Professor at Xinjiang University]</ref>

===Han Population decreased in the same time!===
'''Rebuttal''': Gaza's population is also growing at an annual rate of 2.02%. Beijing has characterized itself as a sympathizer of Palestine. This is used to imply that [[correlation does not imply causation]], so therefore a genocide is not happening.<ref name="gobartimes">[https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1193454.shtml GT investigation busts West's birth control lies in Xinjiang]</ref> However, the reason why the Han population decreased is actually caused by the ongoing crackdown in Xinjiang. According to a source close to the CCP, “Wang has said in his briefings that even the Han people are deeply dissatisfied [by the crackdown]”. For example, the population in Korla has halved since the re-education camps have been set up. The economy in this city has decreased due to the mass migration.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3040628/wanted-chinese-cadres-hold-beijings-line-xinjiang-han-head|title= Wanted: Chinese cadres to hold Beijing’s line in Xinjiang as Han Chinese head for the exits |work=South China Morning Post|last=Lau|first=Mimi|date=4 December 2019|accessdate=30 July 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209140026/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3040628/wanted-chinese-cadres-hold-beijings-line-xinjiang-han-head|archivedate=9 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="financialtimes">[https://www.ft.com/content/fa6bd0b0-1d87-11ea-9186-7348c2f183af Xinjiang security crackdown sparks Han Chinese exodus]</ref>

===The birth rate decrease can be explained by poverty reduction!===
'''Rebuttal:''' Denialists, including the Chinese government, claim that the sudden drop can be explained by {{wpl|demographic transition||.}}<ref name="gobartimes" /> They try to [[Godwin's law|make comparisons to]] the [[White genocide]] [[conspiracy theory]] in order to [[Poisoning the well|poison the well]].<ref>[https://archive.is/n34AQ （1/2）For more than 30 years, the birth rate of whites in the US and Britain has continued to decline, and the problem has  became more and more serious.Could it be that these countries are also pursuing a policy of genocide of white people? Absolutely not] by Zhao Yongchen (4:43 PM - 22 Jul 2020) ''Twitter'' (archived from 22 Oct 2020 18:08:40 UTC).</ref> In doing so, they usually would refer to statements made by Adrian Zenz insinuating a white genocide. For example, Zenz has stated on page 241 of Worthy to Escape, "To put it differently, God will use the Antichrist’s reign of terror to make the world more black-and-white: “black” being the evil deeds of the unbelieving, and “white” being the righteous acts of the saints. People will either take the mark of the beast or they will refuse it and suffer the consequences—there will be no choice in between the two." However, demographic transition happens over a longer period of time than one year.

Apart from that, the economy of Korla has diminished due to the crackdown, so this refutes this claim that there is significant economic development in the region.<ref name="financialtimes" />

Finally, Hotan City's family planning documents tell them to make sure that the birth rate in 2019 should not exceed 2018's, showing that they are planning on suppressing birth rates.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20200514171345/https:/www.hts.gov.cn/file/upload/201904/02/161938677.pdf 和田市人口和计划生育委员会 2019 年部门预算公开 (Chinese)]</ref>

===The birth rate decreased because extremism was eradicated!===
'''Rebuttal:''' The Chinese embassy in the US, linking to a state media article, tweeted this claim in January 2021, and added that thanks to the so-called elimination of "extremism", "the minds of Uygur women were emancipated" and the women were no "baby-making machines". The post not only showed the callous attitude of many Chinese officials towards the Uyghur, but also explained nothing about why Xinjiang's population growth was declining well above the national average in 2020, pretty much revealing the [[bullshit]] propaganda for what it was.<ref>[https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/voa-news-china/chinese-statistics-reveal-plummeting-births-xinjiang-during "Chinese Statistics Reveal Plummeting Births in Xinjiang During Crackdown on Uyghurs"] by Mo Yu, VOA News, 2021 March 27</ref> This clearly dehumanizing post was enough, after some pressure, for [[Twitter]] to lock the China US embassy account.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-twitter/twitter-locks-account-of-chinas-u-s-embassy-over-its-defense-of-xinjiang-policy-idUSKBN29Q03O "Twitter locks account of China's U.S. embassy over its defense of Xinjiang policy"] by Brenda Gab, Reuters, 2021 January 20</ref><ref>[https://qz.com/1954520/china-says-it-saved-uyghur-women-from-being-baby-making-machines/ "China praised itself for saving Uyghur women from being “baby-making machines”] by Mary Hui, QZ, 2021 January 8</ref>

===There are over 25,000 mosques in Xinjiang!===
'''Rebuttal:''' Their argument also talks about how there is one mosque for every 500 Muslims. Then, they compare it to America's ratio (1 mosque for 1643 Muslims). This is an extremely flawed counter-argument as the ratio in Myanmar, noted for its own persecution of Rohingya Muslims, is 1 mosque for every 800 Muslims. Apart from that, they forget that the mosques are surveilled and razed.<ref>[https://twitter.com/GroseTimothy/status/1301599473349558279 Timothy Grose Thread]</ref> The Chinese government has also admitted to assimilating ([[Euphemism|their word for it]] is "Sinicizing") the top 5 [[religions]] in China (this includes Islam along with other mainstream religions like [[Christianity]], [[Buddhism]], [[Catholicism]], and [[Taoism]]).<ref>[https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1065265.shtml 5 main religions in China agree to sinicize]</ref>{{efn|"Sinicize" also refers to the use of religions to spread CCP propaganda. Read [[Wikipedia|Wikipedia's]] page on {{wpl|Religious socialism}} for more information. However, this leads to issues like the {{wpl|11th Panchen Lama controversy}}}}

CCP apologists will also point to random videos showing mass prayers in China. However, these videos are usually not situated in Xinjiang, but in some Han-majority area like Qinghai. Again, they [[straw man]] the argument that [[Islam]] is completely banned in China. In reality, the main point is to "Sinicize" religion and force religious people to obey the CCP through religion (e.g putting pictures of [[Mao Zedong]] and [[Xi Jinping]] in churches).<ref>[https://bitterwinter.org/xi-jinping-portraits-replace-catholic-symbols/ Xi Jinping Portraits Replace Catholic Symbols in Churches]</ref> [[Religions]] and [[cults]] that are a threat to the CCP's rule will be persecuted like [[Falun Gong]] and [[Eastern Lightning]].{{efn|They say these cults spread [[pseudoscience]] and are extremely dangerous. However, top officials retweet conspiracy sites like [[Globalresearch]]. This is similar to America using [[freedom]] and [[democracy]] to invade countries like [[Iraq]].}}

===A Chinese scholar refuted it!===
Adrian Zenz has written a well-sourced rebuttal to it.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201007111232/https://twitter.com/adrianzenz/status/1313662579257094145 This is my detailed response to Beijing's allegations that I miscalculated or misrepresented population statistics in my "Demographic Genocide" report. I specifically rebut a report written by Lin Fangfei, Associate Professor at Xinjiang University. https://link.medium.com/9NU4hxpsnab] by Adrian Zenz (19:09 - 6. Oct. 2020) ''Twitter'' (archived from October 7, 2020).</ref><ref name="adrianzenzmedium" />

===But terrorist incidents have gone down since the camps opened!===
Because stripping an ethnicity of their rights and identity {{wpl|Sri Lankan Civil War|never}} [[The Troubles|caused]] [[Yugoslav Wars|long-term]] conflicts in history, right? Also, [[correlation does not imply causation]].

===The IPVM purposely mistranslated Huawei documents!===
For some context, surveillence research group IPVM released a report on Dec 8, 2020, that alleged Huawei was using AI to track and scan for {{wpl|Uyghurs}}. To prove this, they cited Huawei documents.<ref>[https://thenextweb.com/news/surveillance-group-exposes-disturbing-huawei-patent-for-ai-powered-uighur-detection "Surveillance group exposes disturbing Huawei patent for AI-powered Uighur detection"] by Thomas Macaulay, TheNextWeb, 2021 January 13</ref> Of course, denialist subreddits like r/Sino and r/Genzedong said this was a mistranslation. However, this is a dumb argument because {{wpl|Huawei}} themselves did not say it was a mistranslation, infact, they explained it by saying the code was just a test and didnt see real world use, and simply denying they make algorithms to detect ethnicities, but they never addressed the document itself. If this were a mistranslation, Huawei and the PRC gov't could easily have proved it as such to save face, but they didn't. Also, there are other areas in the document other than the ones r/Sino pointed out that talk face recognition based on ethnicity. Finally, other Chinese companies have been involved with facial tracking of Uyghurs, so Huawei doing it as well really isn't that suprising.<ref>[https://ipvm.com/reports/huawei-megvii-uygur "Huawei / Megvii Uyghur Alarms"], IPVM team, IPVM, 2020 December 8</ref>

===The World Bank have visited and found nothing wrong, and China wants the UN High Commissioner to visit!===

The World Bank [https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/statement/2019/11/11/world-bank-statement-on-review-of-project-in-xinjiang-china visited Xinjiang in November to review a ''specific project'' titled the Xinjiang Technical and Vocational Education and Training Project]. There are a number of issues with this argument.

1. This was a review of a specific program funded and approved by the World Bank; they reviewed documentation of their specific project. The World Bank doesn't oversee all the 'schools' in China, and the specific project they reviewed has its status as 'closed' on its page.<ref>[https://projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/project-detail/P147367 Xinjiang Technical and Vocational Education and Training Project] (December 19, 2022) ''The World Bank''.</ref> The existence of actual education centers in Xinjiang don't automatically remove the existence of concentration camps either. You can read a quote from their statement, as follows:

"The team conducted a thorough review of project documents, engaged in discussions with project staff, and '''visited schools directly financed by the project, as well as their partner schools that were the subject of allegations'''. The review did not substantiate the allegations. In light of the risks associated with the partner schools, '''which are widely dispersed and difficult to monitor''', the scope and footprint of the project is being reduced. Specifically, the project component that involves the partner schools in Xinjiang is being closed."

2. Even if this was an actual review of evidence for the Uyghur genocide in general, this was in November 11, 2019, 5 days before leaked government documents appeared from the New York Times, and 13 days before the China Cables Documents from the International Consortium for Investigative Journalists.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html 'Absolutely No Mercy': Leaked documents expose how China organized mass detentions of Muslims]</ref><ref>[https://www.icij.org/investigations/china-cables/read-the-china-cables-documents/ Read the China Cables Documents]</ref><ref>[https://www.icij.org/investigations/china-cables/exposed-chinas-operating-manuals-for-mass-internment-and-arrest-by-algorithm/ Exposed: China’s Operating Manuals for Mass Internment and Arrest by Algorithm]</ref> This means that more credible evidence emerged afterwards.

3. Regarding China inviting the UN High Commissioner to visit, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said that the visit would not be to "conduct a so-called 'investigation' with a presumption of guilt".<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/china-un-xinjiang-human-rights-1.5968002 China welcomes UN visit to Xinjiang, but opposes investigation]</ref> A guided visit by a known authoritarian government isn't exactly the most reassuring. Important to note, guided visits turning up nothing wrong isn't new. North Korea does guided tours of their country, and nothing appears to be wrong, so North Korea must be a perfectly fine country, right? Bottom line, China invited the UN High Commissioner for a guided tour, nothing else.

===Why don't we see more Uyghur refugees in neighboring countries?===
'''Rebuttal:''' It is very hard for them to flee China, for several reasons:

1. Checkpoints are omnipresent.<ref>[https://eurasianet.org/perspectives-navigating-xinjiangs-security-checkpoints Perspectives | Navigating Xinjiang’s security checkpoints]</ref> Making it to the border with multiple bag and ID checks is a hard task.

2. Neighboring countries (Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikstan) are more likely to extradite refugees back to China than offer refuge, due to their friendly relations with the Chinese government.

3. Relatives left behind can be punished in the form of detention for their escaped family member's actions. This is evident from official documents which cite having a relative who "escaped abroad" as reason for detention.<ref>[https://shahit.biz/eng/viewentry.php?entryno=9910 Melike Mettohti] ''Xinjiang Victims Database''.</ref>

4. Wanting to go to a Muslim country could be construed as the pre-crime of "intending to ''hijirat''." This Arabic word originally means the migration to a place where Islam can be practiced unhindered, but has come to be defined by the Chinese state as a terrorist activity.<ref>[https://archive.fo/TlazC 新疆部分地区学习识别75种宗教极端活 (Chinese)]</ref> This is most likely due to violent incidents in the past involving Uyghurs trying to secretly emigrate:[https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/%E4%BC%8A%E5%90%89%E6%8B%89%E7%89%B9_(%E6%81%90%E6%80%96%E4%B8%BB%E4%B9%89)].

==See also==
*[[War on Terror]]
*{{wpl|Cultural genocide}}
*{{wpl|Stolen Generations}}
*{{wpl|American Indian boarding schools}}

==External Links==
*[https://wokeglobaltimes.com/xinjiang Breaking Down the Xinjiang Crisis] — Translations and analysis of Chinese government documents/Destroying denialist arguments with [[Ben Shapiro|facts and logic]].
*[https://xinjiang.sppga.ubc.ca/ Xinjiang Documentation Project] — Timelines and context

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:China]]
[[Category:Communism]]
[[Category:Crimes against humanity]]
[[Category:Denialism]]
[[Category:Genocide]]
[[Category:Government coverups]]
[[Category:Government incompetence]]
[[Category:Government surveillance]]
[[Category:Islamophobia]]
[[Category:Nationalism in China]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Genocide denial]]

Categories: China, Communism, Crimes against humanity, Denialism, Genocide, Government coverups, Government incompetence, Government surveillance, Islamophobia, Nationalism in China, Racism, Genocide denial