China: a state that, for over the past four decades, has slowly built itself up from an agrarian nation and the home of sweatshops where goods are manufactured for multinational corporations, to an industrial powerhouse. This regional superpower, rivaled only in its region perhaps by India, has one of the world’s largest economies. With initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative, under which President Xi Jinping has invested money and infrastructure in third-world nations with failing economies, China has gained the support of every one of these nations, as well as a foothold in every one of their markets and governments. They have set themselves up as a wealthy, attractive option, one to rival the West. China also doesn’t have the same reputation of hypocrisy, empty promises, and heavy-handedness that the United States does, which has unfortunately occurred in the U.S.’s dealings with situations such as the Middle East and Afghanistan.

However, beyond China’s power grab of taking over the governments of dozens of nations, a larger issue is growing: the Uighur Muslims Crisis. The Uighurs initially wanted to be a separate state when the great breakup of empires was occurring in the early and mid-20th century, but communist China brought their region under its complete control in 1949. Their economy has revolved around agriculture and trade for centuries, and they are similar to Central Asian nations in cultural terms. Within their own region, Xinjiang, they have become a minority due to the mass migration of Han Chinese, and for decades, their rights have been repressed in the region.

In 2016, Chen Quanguo, a well-known hardline Communist Party leader, took control of the largely autonomous Xinjiang region. He increased the size of the police force by 90,000 men and doubled the number of checkpoints in the region. Mr. Chen said in October 2017 in a speech to the other communist leaders of the region, “The struggle against terror and to safeguard stability is a protracted war, and also a war of offense.” In a record of his remarks in a video conference in August 2017, he cited “vocational skills, education training and transformation centers” as an example of “good practices” for achieving Xi Jinping’s goals for Xinjiang. Increased government crackdowns, policies curtailing cultural and religious activities, and exaggeration of the threat posed by Uighur separatists all culminated in a culture of fear and oppression prevalent in Xinjiang, which presented itself in the form of horrifying concentration camps.

What does China itself say about the Uighur Muslims? “China’s central government says Uighur militants are waging a violent campaign for an independent state by plotting bombings, sabotage, and civil unrest.”

So what is the situation of the camps themselves? Until recently, we had little to no informational foundation due to the Chinese government’s secrecy; however, in September, footage leaked of hundreds of blindfolded and shackled Uighurs, resulting in the international community taking notice. Furthermore, following the video, official documents detailing the deprivation of the Uighur’s human rights were leaked to the New York Times. The authorities have imprisoned upwards of a million ethnic Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other minorities in internment camps in Xinjiang over the past three years. Inmates undergo months of party indoctrination and interrogation, aimed at transforming them into loyal and secular supporters of the Communist party.

The documents reveal that students returning to Xinjiang were told that their relatives were “receiving treatment” due to their “radical exposure to Islam.” The “treatment” prisoners are subjected to entailed physical and psychological torture, where they were shackled, beaten, starved, and sleep-deprived. A survivor writes, “They have a chair called the ‘tiger.’ My ankles were shackled, my hands locked to the chair. I couldn’t move. They wouldn’t let me sleep. They also hung me up for hours, and they beat me. They had thick wooden and rubber batons, whips made from twisted wire, needles to pierce the skin, pliers for pulling out your nails.”

The Chinese government denies everything and says that people go to prison camps because they are “vocational training centers,” where they help remove extremist thoughts by teaching them about art and history.

A leading Uighur activist, Rushan Abbas, whose sister and aunt were both abducted and detained in camps a week after she first went public as an advocate in the US in late 2018, claim that Uighurs are being detained because “our religion, our culture, our language is being targeted as a mental ideological disease. [It is] not just the 3 million people in the concentration camps facing mental and physical torture, forced intense indoctrinations, forced medications, food and sleep deprivation, [but] even the people at large… living outside, are facing a complete surveillance police state.” Jeweler Ilham, another activist, has said, “Every day millions of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in China are being abused, drugged and indoctrinated in the government’s concentration camps,” and that “Beijing believes Islam is a sickness to be treated with an iron fist.”

So what has the rest of the world done? Recently, the US House of Representatives passed a bill requiring President Trump to toughen his response to China’s crackdown on the Uighurs through sanctions. This bill passed with an overwhelming majority in the Democratic House, but it requires the president to condemn abuses against Muslims, call for the closure of mass detention camps in Xinjiang, as well as for the enforcement of sanction against Chen Quanguo. However, this bill still needs to pass the Senate before it reaches the president which will take time. Unfortunately, though, time is something the Uighur Muslims don’t have. This may harm trade negotiations between the two countries, delaying a solution. Hua Chunying, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said, “Do you think if America takes actions to hurt China’s interests we won’t take any action?” Due to the trade war and the situation in Hong Kong, relations are strained, and the Xinjiang problem could exacerbate affairs.

Internationally, Western powers have condemned China, and a group of 22 nations has signed a letter addressed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the president of the UN Human Rights Council telling China to finish its detention program in Xinjiang. The signatories express concern about “credible reports of arbitrary detention” in Xinjiang and “widespread surveillance and restrictions” particularly targeting Uighurs and other minorities. These nations include globally prevalent countries such as Canada, France, Japan, Spain, the UK, and many others. As you can see, they are overwhelming European, and all within the Western sphere of influence.

However, a second letter has also been sent to these same UN bodies in defense of China’s policies, which has been signed by 37 nations. In the second letter, the signatories expressed their opposition to “politicizing human rights” and reiterated China’s defense of what Beijing calls vocation education and training centers. They attempt to justify China’s actions, writing: “Faced with the grave challenge of terrorism and extremism, China has undertaken a series of counter-terrorism and deradicalization measures in Xinjiang, including setting up vocational education and training centers.” These nations include influential countries such as Russia, Syria, Egypt, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and many others. Malaysia, who previously was neutral, and Pakistan, who initially sided with China, have both switched sides and come out in condemnation of China. Hundreds of people in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Kazakhstan have come out in protest of China’s policies due to the large numbers of their own people who have also been placed in these camps.

So, why did those 37 nations come out in support of China? Many of them are Muslim-majority, especially Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. Here is where we come full circle. The One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR) has revitalized many of these countries’ failing economies, and China is pressuring them into giving their support. The leaders of these nations know that if China were to recall its loans, it could be devastating, so no matter the stance of their own people, they have no choice but to lend their support.

Despite the United States’ condemnations, US corporations such as Apple, Google, and Facebook continues to do business with China, as do many other multinational corporations around the globe. China knows the world cannot afford to be too harsh due to the stranglehold it has on the global economy. Therefore, world leaders should consider putting economic pressure on China. President Trump himself said at a UN conference, “As president, protecting religious freedom is one of my highest priorities and always has been.”

As activist Rushan Abbas said, “Freedom is not free – any kind of doing the right thing comes with a price.” Doing the right thing is not always easy or popular. The strong have an obligation to stand up for the weak. These world leaders are now responsible for standing up to China, and each day that goes by without decisive action, more will suffer. You can help by going to www.saveuighur.org and contacting your local representative to express concern.

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