Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Time: 4:00-5:30 PM

Location: Capitol Visitors Center, South Congressional Meeting Room (CVC 217)

Join UHRP for a panel discussion bringing together leading experts, advocates, and scholars to examine how the CCP’s “happy Uyghur” narrative has spread globally, and what governments and civil society can do in response.

The Chinese government has invested heavily in propaganda to whitewash and deny the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs in East Turkistan. State-run media promote narratives of economic development, vocational training, and ethnic harmony in the region. The government has recruited hundreds of “foreign vloggers” to film their visits, parroting the government line. Potemkin tours for foreign journalists and diplomats, and state-media documentaries, highlight supposed success stories of Uyghur citizens. Chinese diplomats and influencers disseminate these messages through social media. This campaign aims to shape global perception, deflect criticism, and maintain domestic support by presenting a sanitized version of events.

Effective responses to the CCP’s campaign to promote the “happy Uyghurs” narrative focus on ending tacit approval on the part of  international actors, and providing avenues for Uyghur voices. This includes the travel industry and hotel brands, as UHRP has documented, university exchanges with China, university presses with publishing partnerships with Chinese state institutions, academic and scientific journals’ treatment of submissions that violate ethics standards, UN bodies such as the UNESCO mandate to protect cultural heritage , and supporting free and independent journalism featuring Uyghur voices, particularly RFA’s Uyghur Service. 

Speakers:

• Members of Congress (invited)
• Omer Kanat, Executive Director, Uyghur Human Rights Project
• Abduweli Ayup, Researcher, Publisher, and Founder of Uyghur Hjelp (Norway)
• Rayhan Asat, Senior Legal and Policy Advisor, Atlantic Council Strategic Litigation Project
• Professor Rian Thum, University of Manchester
• William Nee, National Endowment for Democracy
• Olivia Enos, Hudson Institute