Persecution of Uyghurs in China

Quick Facts: Who was Persecution of Uyghurs in China?

Subject:

Persecution of Uyghurs in China

Known for:

Systematic human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China, since 2014.

Verified Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

Since 2014, the government of China has committed a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang which has often been characterized as persecution or as genocide. There have been reports of mass arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, mass surveillance, cultural and religious persecution, family separation, forced labor, sexual violence, and violations of reproductive rights. In 2014, the administration of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) general secretary Xi Jinping launched the Strike Hard Campaign Against Violent Terrorism, which involved surveillance and restrictions in Xinjiang. Beginning in 2017, under Xinjiang Party secretary Chen Quanguo, the government incarcerated over an estimated one million Uyghurs without legal process in internment camps officially described as "vocational education and training centers", in the largest mass internment of an ethnic-religious minority group since World War II. China began to wind down the camps in 2019, and some detainees were transferred to the penal system, while others were transferred to forced labor and factory work programs.

Career & Major Achievements

In addition to mass detention, government policies have included suppression of Uyghur religious practices, political indoctrination, forced sterilization, forced contraception, and forced abortion. An estimated 16,000 mosques have been razed or damaged, and hundreds of thousands of children have been forcibly separated from their parents and sent to boarding schools. Since 2017, preferential family planning exemptions previously available to Uyghurs have reportedly been reduced or removed. Chinese government statistics reported that from 2015 to 2018, birth rates in the mostly Uyghur regions of Hotan and Kashgar fell by more than 60%. In the same period, the national birth rate decreased by 9.7%.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

According to CNN, Chinese authorities acknowledged that birth rates dropped by almost a third in 2018 in Xinjiang, but denied reports of forced sterilization. Birth rates in Xinjiang fell a further 24% in 2019, compared to a nationwide decrease of 4.2%. Chen Quanguo was succeeded by Ma Xingrui as Xinjiang Party Secretary in 2021; Ma's tenure led to the end to overt crackdowns and the campaign-style mobilization under Chen and shifted towards a "normalization" phase while continuing the previous policies facilitating ethnic assimilation. The Chinese government denies having committed human rights abuses in Xinjiang. International reactions have varied, with its actions being described as the forced assimilation of Xinjiang, as ethnocide or cultural genocide, or as genocide.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 2014: 2014 Milestone — Since 2014, the government of China has committed a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang which has often been characterized as persecution or as genocide.
2. 2015: 2015 Milestone — Chinese government statistics reported that from 2015 to 2018, birth rates in the mostly Uyghur regions of Hotan and Kashgar fell by more than 60%.
3. 2017: 2017 Milestone — Beginning in 2017, under Xinjiang Party secretary Chen Quanguo, the government incarcerated over an estimated one million Uyghurs without legal process in internment camps officially described as "vocational education and training centers", in the largest mass internment of an ethnic-religious minority group since World War II.
4. 2018: 2018 Milestone — According to CNN, Chinese authorities acknowledged that birth rates dropped by almost a third in 2018 in Xinjiang, but denied reports of forced sterilization.
5. 2019: 2019 Milestone — China began to wind down the camps in 2019, and some detainees were transferred to the penal system, while others were transferred to forced labor and factory work programs.
6. 2021: 2021 Milestone — Chen Quanguo was succeeded by Ma Xingrui as Xinjiang Party Secretary in 2021; Ma's tenure led to the end to overt crackdowns and the campaign-style mobilization under Chen and shifted towards a "normalization" phase while continuing the previous policies facilitating ethnic assimilation.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Persecution of Uyghurs in China

True or False: “The International Criminal Court (ICC) was able to investigate the situation in Xinjiang when a case was brought in 2020.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): The ICC could not investigate because China is not a party to the Rome Statute.

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