It has become accepted Washington doctrine that, when it comes to foreign policy, the splits between the parties (and within them) are too wide to bridge.
It has become accepted Washington doctrine that, when it comes to foreign policy, the splits between the parties (and within them) are too wide to bridge.
AT A minimum, the minority Muslim Uighur population of Xinjiang province in China is about 11 million people, and probably significantly higher.
China is a leading oppressor of Muslims, so it should come as no surprise that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia — the kingdom that views itself as defender of the Islamic faith — would visit Beijing to deliver a stern rebuke.
No matter how powerful the Chinese government may be, however, they will never succeed. Uighurs both inside China and abroad will continue to stand up for their rights and their identity as a people. But this task will become far more difficult if most of the world continues to stand by and let these crimes occur.
It is now beyond doubt that China is undertaking a program of mass incarceration of the Uighur population in its far north-western province of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in a system of “re-education” centres.
The sun rises. President Trump brags. And Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shams.
Under “terrorist” legislation in Xinjiang, anyone can be arrested for anything — for expressing an allegiance to Uighur culture, for example, or for reading the Koran. Once inside the “re-education” camps, arrestees are forced to speak in Mandarin Chinese and made to recite praises of the Communist Party.
On 22 January, the innocuously-named ‘Frontier Support Group’ (FSG) announced plans to open a ‘training centre’ in Xinjiang, where approximately one million people are currently being held in concentration camps (Shepherd 2019). This announcement highlights a vital and underexplored element in the story of Xinjiang’s camps—the role of private paramilitary companies and transnational circulations.
Indonesia has earned the deep gratitude of Uyghurs around the world. I add my heartfelt thanks for the compassion that Indonesians have shown for the suffering of my people.
In 2017, China began to construct a huge network of detention camps in its northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Over a million indigenous Uyghur and Kazakhs are currently detained without trial.