By Elise Anderson
Dec 15, 2020
Since 2017, China has waged a repressive campaign against Uyghurs in an effort to destroy their ways of life. This essay considers compelled silence and compelled sound as a byproduct of this genocidal campaign. The impact on Uyghur soundscapes reveals the depth of Chinese state interference into Uyghur life and underscores the gross scale of the mass atrocity itself.
Introduction
One afternoon in June 2018, I found myself browsing in an antique shop in Östengboyi (The Stream’s Edge), a neighborhood running alongside the Id Kah mosque of Kashgar, the famed Uyghur city in China’s Uyghur Autonomous Region. Behind me, I heard a voice say, “essalamu eleykum,” meaning peace be upon you, the Arabic greeting used by Muslims worldwide. “We eleykum essalam,” I heard another voice answer. And also on you. I turned and saw two elderly Uyghur men embracing. I then looked toward the shopkeeper; surprise was written across his face. Our eyes met, but we said nothing.
Read teh full article at The Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (GJIA)
Bibliography of select news reports & academic works
Compiled by Professor Magnus Fiskesjö
UHRP’s report, “The Government Never Oppresses Us”: China’s proof-of-life videos as intimidation and a violation of Uyghur family unity, analyzes Chinese state media videos featuring Uyghurs denying any suffering and demanding an end to criticism of state policies.
The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) has submitted a report for consideration by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in preparation for the Committee’s examination of the 3rd periodic report of China.
The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) or Bingtuan:
1. Exercises State & Police Powers
2. Serves as a Colonizing Force
3. Commits Brutal Abuses
4. Profits from Uyghur Forced Labor
5. Operates a Global Business Empire
The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) has released a new briefing highlighting calls by Uyghur Americans for the Chinese government to return their relatives’ passports and permit travel overseas for family reunifications in the United States.
The Uyghur Human Rights Project has released a new report analyzing the Chinese government’s attempts to craft and promote a narrative responding to international criticism of its large-scale arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples.
On July 21, 2020, Dr. Elise Anderson, UHRP's Senior Program Officer for Research and Advocacy, testified before the House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament on the Human Rights Situation of the Uyghurs.