Approximately 10 million Uighur make their home in China's Xinjiang region
This Turkic Muslim group comprises around 45% of Xinjiang’s population
Yet, the Uighur population has made serious allegations
that the Chinese authorities support cultural, religious and economic discrimination against them
These allegations are not surprising, as of 2019
the number of Uighurs detained by Chinese officials
Numbers approximately 1 million citizens
Uighurs are now being rounded up by the hundreds of thousands
So why are there more than a million people held in detention camps?
Historically, Xinjiang has long been the epicenter of ethnic unrest between the Uighur and the Han Chinese
which make up China's ethnic majority
At the heart of the conflict is a separatist movement against the Chinese oppression
Which seeks to establish an independent Uighur homeland called East Turkestan.
In recent decades, there’s been a mass migration of Han Chinese to Xinjiang,
and the Uighurs feel their culture and livelihoods are threatened by the changing cultural tides.
In 2016, a new leader came to Xinjiang.
Chen Quanguo was known as a powerful Communist Party boss, Whose previous job was restoring order
and control to the restive region of Tibet.
In Tibet, Chen gained a reputation as a strongman who specialized in cracking down on ethnic unrest.
Under Chen Quanguo, Uighur people are rounded up and placed in detention camps,
where they undergo patriotic training and “de-extremification” to make them blend more with the Han Chinese culture.
We committed no crime.
We were arrested just because we were Muslim
These people are being forced to forego their Turkic Muslim faith and culture.
At first, China officially denied the existence of the camps.
When confronted about them at the United Nations.
Chinese officials claimed these camps are merely vocational and training centers intended
to combat extremism, and that they’re teaching detainees useful and valuable life and career skills.
But leaked documents and firsthand accounts Uighur detainees have painted
a disturbing picture of life at the camps.
As a result, Turkey has called the camps a great “Shame for Humanity”.
Present-day Xinjiang is poised to play a key logistical role in international trade.
The region, which shares its borders with seven countries, has been designated as a key gateway
in President Xi Jinping’s ambitious “Belt and Road” initiative, causing Beijing
to take notice of social issues within the Xinjiang region.
At the same time, China has continued to push back against human rights infringement allegations,
and Beijing does not appears ready to shift its policies.
Beyond issuing statements condemning the activity within the detention camps,
no official action has been taken by any country as of yet.
