Turkey faces off with China
Over treatment of the Uighur ethnic minority
How will this showdown go down?
This is China Uncensored.
I’m Chris Chappell.
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The Uighurs.
They’re the dominant ethnic minority
in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of
China.
That’s its official name because it’s
totally autonomous.
You know, other than the massive state security
apparatus
the Chinese Communist Party has installed
in Xinjiang.
“The security here is incredibly tight.
There are armored cars on the streets.
Police stations on every corner.
And tons of surveillance cameras.
In the past year, police have stepped up security.
The region is now under probably the most
intense government surveillance in the world.”
Not to mention the government workers literally
being sent into people’s homes to spy on
them.
I mean who doesn’t like being watched 24/7
with the threat of detention
hanging over your head at all times?
I can’t imagine why any Uighurs
would want independence from China.
For years, the Chinese Communist Party
has targeted the Uighurs.
They're a mostly Turkic Muslim group,
so the Party justifies it as a crackdown on
terrorists.
And it is true some Uighurs from Xinjiang
have joined terrorist groups like ISIS.
But authorities have detained
more than a million Uighurs in concentration
camps.
So that makes you wonder,
do Chinese authorities think all Uighurs are
terrorists?
Well, that would be taking it too far.
Chinese authorities clearly don’t think
all Uighurs are terrorists.
For instance,
Uighur women make great wife material.
...since you know, there’s about 30 million
more men than women in China.
It’s because of the extremely well-thought-out
One Child Policy that resulted in the abortions
of tens of millions of unborn girls.
Now, many Western countries have spoken out
against the persecution of Uighurs.
Including the Trump Administration.
Because when you think ‘defending Muslims,’
you think Donald Trump.
And Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
said just last week that she spoke with
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about
doing more to help the Uighurs.
More proof of how the Chinese Communist Party
is bringing Democrats and Republicans together.
It’s heartwarming, really.
But in the upside down world we live in,
Muslim countries by and large have remained
silent
about the Chinese regime’s treatment of
Muslims.
Does that have anything to do with the billions
of dollars
China is investing in these countries?
I’m not saying it’s about money.
But I’m not *not* saying it’s not not
about money.
Think about *that.*
But the Muslim world’s silence
on the Chinese regime’s persecution of Muslims
has started to change.
And it has started with
one of the most unlikely countries:
Turkey.
Because when you think
‘standing up to authoritarian persecution,’
you think Turkish dictator President Erdoğan.
Turkey has become the first predominantly
Muslim country
to directly criticize the Chinese regime on
the issue.
This statement is a from the Turkish Foreign
Ministry.
It specifically calls out the “serious human
rights violations
committed in the Xinjiang region.”
The statement was made despite a recent 3.6
billion dollar loan
from a Chinese state-owned bank.
The statement also grieved the death of
a famous Uighur musician and poet, Abdurehim
Heyit.
He’s been detained in China since 2017.
 
Heyit is incredibly popular in the Turkic
world for his art.
So, what was the Chinese regime’s response?
The report of his death was greatly exaggerated.
China released this video,
supposedly of Heyit saying, “Hey I’m fine!”
“My name is Abdurehim Heyit.
Today is February 10, 2019.
I'm in the process of being investigated
for allegedly violating the national laws.
I'm now in good health and have never been
abused.”
Ohhh, well that was a bit of a snafu.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry was quick to
gloat.
“Turkey’s ridiculous lie of describing
a person who is alive as a dead person
and its groundless accusations
are terribly wrong and irresponsible.
We express resolute opposition to this.”
Yeah, how dare Turkey call someone dead
when that person is obviously alive
but held incommunicado with his whereabouts
unknown!
Although, if a government has to release
a “proof of life” video
to prove that they haven’t killed someone,
that’s not a good look.
It’s more of a kidnapper look.
But let’s go back to why Turkey messed up!
Because obviously if that specific fact was
wrong,
then entire argument that China is persecuting
Uighurs
must be false too!
At least according to this statement
from the Chinese embassy in Turkey.
“The allegations that the Chinese government
is trying to ‘eliminate’ the ethnic,
religious and cultural identity of the Uighurs
and other Muslim groups are completely untenable.”
So please, stop looking into any alleged stories
of torture.
Like this one.
But it was a short-lived victory for the Chinese
regime.
Because you know what the response
from Uighurs around the world has been?
Well, if the Chinese authorities are willing
to release
a video of one Uighur as proof he was alive,
why not release one for every Uighur in detention?
They started the #MeTooUyghur movement,
demanding video proof that their
detained friends and relatives are alive.
A Uighur Me Too Movement.
Look, you know,
not all Chinese people imprison Uighurs.
In fact, some Uighurs even fake it!
Some Uighurs just accidentally fell down the
stairs...
into concentration camps,
while in the process,
dropping their children...into...
far-away Chinese boarding schools
where they’re forbidden to speak their native
language.
Look, what I’m trying to say is,
stairs are dangerous and stop asking questions.
So what does this mean for Turkey's relationship
with China?
Turkey hasn’t officially responded
since China released the video they say is
Heyit.
But according to the Mercator Institute for
China Studies,
Turkey is too important for China
as an access point to the Middle East.
So the long-term blowback will probably be
small.
And before we go,
now is the time when I answer questions from
you,
my loyal 50-cent army—
fans of the show who support what we do
through the crowd funding website Patreon.
David Michael White asks,
“Chris, in your opinion,
what's the greatest love story in Chinese
literature?”
Oh well, I’m sure the right answer is probably
the characters from Dream of Red Chamber,
one of the four classics of Chinese literature.
It involves two star-crossed lovers bound
together
by a tragic karmic relationship.
And let me just say,
what I just said makes it sound
way more interesting that it actually is.
Now I know I’m going to get some blowback
for this,
because Dream of Red Chamber
is beloved by Chinese people everywhere,
but it must lose something in translation
because seriously,
it’s 3,000 pages divided into five volumes,
and in one of them,
literally the biggest plot point is...
the characters form a poetry club.
Yeah, that’s the main thing that happens.
Like, honestly I would say the relationship
between the Monkey King and the Tang Monk
in Journey to the West is a better romance.
Or maybe the bromance of the three brothers
in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
In fact, yeah,
that’s what I’m going to say as my answer.
The Three Sworn Brothers,
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei,
who swore to die on the same day,
is the greatest love story in Chinese literature.
But it’s not romantic love.
It’s a bromantic love.
Now that classic is incredible.
What’s that, Shelley?
What about the Butterfly Lovers
or the Cowherd and Weaver Girl?
Nah, still going to go with
the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
It’s right there in the name!
Thanks for your question,
David Michael White.
If you’d like to hear your question answered
on the show,
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Thanks for watching this episode of China
Uncensored.
Once again I’m Chris Chappell,
see you next time!
