Concentration Camps
The concentration camps began to emerge after President Xi Jinping announced in 2014 that he would be launching a “People’s War on Terror” in China. In fact, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the Chinese government has started to use this global rhetoric to suppress Uyghurs, who are mainly Sunni Muslims [1]. Such repression has reached the highest level since the CCP’s secretary Chen Quanguo was transferred from Tibet Autonomous Region to East Turkistan in August 2016 [2]. He began an intensive securitization program targeting the Islamic identity and culture of Uyghurs. Since the launch of this new campaign, Xi Jinping has labeled the Uyghur people as “terrorists” that need to be contained and “re-educated” for the safety of China. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson of China claimed that they are simply taking ‘‘de-extremism measures’’ to prevent ‘‘terrorism’’ and ‘‘religious extremism’’. Currently, up to 3 millions Uyghurs and other Muslims are held in those camps and the number of such camps has surpassed 1000.
Uyghur people have been targeted by the Chinese government for being “terrorists”. Since the end of 2016, Uyghurs have been systematically singled-out. It has been reported that up to three million Uyghurs are being contained in concentration camps in East Turkistan. Beijing claims that the concentration camps are instead ‘‘re-education camps’’ and ‘‘vocational centers’’ aimed to cleanse the ‘‘terrorist ideals’’ from the Uyghur people and ‘‘reintegrate them back in society’’.
After being taken into the camps, detainees are required to memorize Chinese propaganda, watch propaganda documentaries about the Chinese government, repeat slogans thanking the Party and the Chinese president Xi Jinping. They must also learn Mandarin if they don’t already speak the language. They are frequently tested on this and if they do poorly, then they are subjected to punishment. The prisoners are also forced to publicly renounce their own cultural and religious identity while admitting to ‘‘mistakes’’ such as wearing a hijab, praying, reading the Quran, growing ‘‘abnormal’’ beards, and so on [3]. Moreover, the detainees of the camps are made to take unknown drugs, and are subjected to forced labour, involuntary sterilization, biometric data collection, torture, sexual and physical abuse, as well as mental abuse which result in death of many.
Subsequently, millions of Uyghurs and other Muslims have been sent to newly opened “education and transformation training centers” or “Counter-extremism Training Schools”, where they must stay indefinitely away from their families to “unlearn” their religious ideologies.
However, three official Chinese government documents have been leaked, confirming the brutal crackdown on Uyghurs and authenticating that these camps are indeed concentration camps - not “re-education camps.” The first one is a 400-page Chinese official document leaked to the New York Times where the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, says that he would “show absolute no mercy” to Uyghurs [4]. The second government document labeled as “secret” shows how the detention camps are run, and reveals the link between the mass surveillance of Uyghurs and the concentration camps [5]. The third leaked official document demonstrates how Uyghurs are being selected for the concentration camps. The 137-page spreadsheet lists detailed information on over 300 detainees and over 2000 of their relatives, friends, and even neighbours [6].
References
[1] Gilles, S. (2019, November 25). Secret documents reveal inner workings of China’s mass detention camps for Uyghurs, other minorities. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-secret-documents-reveal-how-china-mass-detention-camps-work-2/
[2] Ibid
[3] Greer, T. (2018, September 13). 48 Ways to Get Sent to a Chinese Concentration Camp. Retrieved from https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/13/48-ways-to-get-sent-to-a-chinese-concentration-camp/
[4] Kuo, L. (2019, November 17). ‘Show no mercy’: Leaked documents reveal details of China’s Xinjiang detentions. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/17/show-no-mercy-leaked-documents-reveal-details-of-chinas-mass-xinjiang-detentions
[5] ICIJ. (2019, November 24). Read the China Cables Documents. Retrieved from https://www.icij.org/investigations/china-cables/read-the-china-cables-documents/
[6] Tellman, V., & Petersmann, S. (2020, February 17). Exclusive: New evidence of China's arbitrary oppression of the Uighurs. Retrieved from https://www.dw.com/en/exclusive-new-evidence-of-chinas-arbitrary-oppression-of-the-uighurs/a-52409797