[TEXT: Jewher Ilham, Daughter of jailed academic]
Since 2017 the Chinese government has detained
more than 1 million Uighurs
and other Muslim minorities
in internment camps across Xinjiang,
with reports of torture and death.
But why?
[TEXT: Geng Shuang, CPC
Spokesperson, June 11, 2019]
China’s Communist regime claims the detentions are:
“...to help a small group of people who
are eroded by terrorist and extremist
thoughts to return to the right track...”
The reality: It’s incredibly easy
to be labeled an “extremist”
and sent to an internment camp.
You can end up there by practicing your faith,
speaking your native language,
wearing traditional clothing
or growing a beard,
traveling abroad, especially to Muslim-majority countries
or even for refusing a marriage proposal
from a Han Chinese suitor.
Practicing one’s culture and religion isn’t extreme. 
It’s a right.
[TEXT: Select Media © AP Images
Produced by the U.S. Department of State]
