Uighur exiles in Turkey persecuted by CCP's long arm
Istanbul has become the largest diaspora hub for Uighurs in exile. Uighurs and Turks share close linguistic, religious and cultural ties. For decades, Turkey has supported Uighur refugees fleeing from China.
Over the past few years, however, Turkish government's attitude towards #Uighur diaspora has changed due to China's growing diplomatic and economic influence over the country.
A dossier obtained by Axios dated from 2016 to 2017 provides rare proof that China is putting direct pressure on the Turkish government. According to these documents, the Chinese government accused Enver Turdi, a Uighur man fled to Turkey in 2014, of creating a pro-Islamic State website and participating in terrorism. China requested Turkey to arrest and extradite him. Turkey accepted the request and initiated criminal proceedings.
According to Turdi, what he did before escaping from China was just passing along information about China's abuses to the media and some overseas Uighur organisations. After his passport had expired, the #Turkey authorities placed him in a deportation facility and sent him to trial. A decision on his fate is still pending.
For the Chinese government, terrorism and extremism are just a convenient way to frame the religious and cultural activities of Uighurs. Signs of "religious extremism" include such behaviours as wearing long beards or refusing alcohol. This is why Hong Kong people are against the extradition bill and national security legislation.
Counter-terrorism and national security are often used as a pretext by #China to persecute dissidents, locally and abroad.
If the world does not stand up to China, the #CCP will extend its meddling hands beyond its boundaries and arrive on everyone's doorstep sooner or later.
#HongKong #HumanRight
Sources:
Axios, 20 May
https://www.axios.com/documents-chinas-secret-extradition-request-uighur-turkey-6d5ba886-c22c-47e8-b970-804fae274e2d.html
The Guardian, 24 May
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/24/fearful-uighurs-celebrate-eid-in-exile-in-turkey
NPR, 13 Mar
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/13/800118582/i-thought-it-would-be-safe-uighurs-in-turkey-now-fear-china-s-long-arm
Istanbul has become the largest diaspora hub for Uighurs in exile. Uighurs and Turks share close linguistic, religious and cultural ties. For decades, Turkey has supported Uighur refugees fleeing from China.
Over the past few years, however, Turkish government's attitude towards #Uighur diaspora has changed due to China's growing diplomatic and economic influence over the country.
A dossier obtained by Axios dated from 2016 to 2017 provides rare proof that China is putting direct pressure on the Turkish government. According to these documents, the Chinese government accused Enver Turdi, a Uighur man fled to Turkey in 2014, of creating a pro-Islamic State website and participating in terrorism. China requested Turkey to arrest and extradite him. Turkey accepted the request and initiated criminal proceedings.
According to Turdi, what he did before escaping from China was just passing along information about China's abuses to the media and some overseas Uighur organisations. After his passport had expired, the #Turkey authorities placed him in a deportation facility and sent him to trial. A decision on his fate is still pending.
For the Chinese government, terrorism and extremism are just a convenient way to frame the religious and cultural activities of Uighurs. Signs of "religious extremism" include such behaviours as wearing long beards or refusing alcohol. This is why Hong Kong people are against the extradition bill and national security legislation.
Counter-terrorism and national security are often used as a pretext by #China to persecute dissidents, locally and abroad.
If the world does not stand up to China, the #CCP will extend its meddling hands beyond its boundaries and arrive on everyone's doorstep sooner or later.
#HongKong #HumanRight
Sources:
Axios, 20 May
https://www.axios.com/documents-chinas-secret-extradition-request-uighur-turkey-6d5ba886-c22c-47e8-b970-804fae274e2d.html
The Guardian, 24 May
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/24/fearful-uighurs-celebrate-eid-in-exile-in-turkey
NPR, 13 Mar
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/13/800118582/i-thought-it-would-be-safe-uighurs-in-turkey-now-fear-china-s-long-arm
Axios
Documents show China's secret extradition request for Uighur in Turkey
Beijing is pushing foreign governments to do its bidding
#Newspaper
Why is Germany silent on China's human rights abuses?
//Since Hong Kong's anti-government demonstrations began in June, the pro-democracy movement has been pleading for international support. And the recent confirmation of China's systematic internment of Muslim Uighurs in the country's western Xinjiang province has strengthened international calls for action against China's human rights abuses.
//Now, human rights advocates and some German politicians are calling for German Chancellor Angela Merkel to take a stronger stance on human rights issues in China.
//"It is time for Angela Merkel to put it [Xinjiang] on the agenda of the upcoming European Council to talk of a common European perspective on imposing sanctions," Gyde Jensen, head of the human rights committee in the German Parliament, the Bundestag, told DW News Asia.
//Katrin Kinzelbach, a professor of international human rights policy at Germany's University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, said that the German government should take a "clear position" on Hong Kong.
//Although Germany has joined 22 countries at the United Nations in signing an official statement condemning the Xinjiang Uighur internment camps, Berlin, and the EU, have yet to come up with a common framework for action, and Merkel has been criticized for being too soft in condemning the camps.
//“The extent of human rights violations has greatly increased under President Xi Jinping. It is inappropriate to court the Chinese party-state in this situation — as Germany is doing with a special EU-China summit scheduled to take place in Leipzig in 2020," said Kinzelbach.
//Berlin treads more carefully with Beijing and has tried to maintain a less volatile relationship as China is one of Germany's most important trade partners
//"Given the escalation in Hong Kong, it would be correct — and comparatively easy — to review existing export regulations," said Kinzelbach, adding that sanctions available to address human rights violations could include arms embargoes, restrictions on entry for individuals and the freezing of accounts.
//However, any sanctions regime targeting China-related human rights abuses would also have to be made within the framework of the European Union, and this is complicated by the disparity of positions in the EU on China policy.
//"In the long term, democracy and human rights should be put higher than economic profit, because we see that China is a dictatorship and you never know how economic growth can develop in a dictatorship," said Jensen.
Full article: Deutsche Welle, (12 May)
Further reading:
Death penalty riles European allies
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2018/09/07/2003699934
#Germany #Dictatorship #CCP #HongKongProtest #Xinjiang #Uighur #HumanRights
Why is Germany silent on China's human rights abuses?
//Since Hong Kong's anti-government demonstrations began in June, the pro-democracy movement has been pleading for international support. And the recent confirmation of China's systematic internment of Muslim Uighurs in the country's western Xinjiang province has strengthened international calls for action against China's human rights abuses.
//Now, human rights advocates and some German politicians are calling for German Chancellor Angela Merkel to take a stronger stance on human rights issues in China.
//"It is time for Angela Merkel to put it [Xinjiang] on the agenda of the upcoming European Council to talk of a common European perspective on imposing sanctions," Gyde Jensen, head of the human rights committee in the German Parliament, the Bundestag, told DW News Asia.
//Katrin Kinzelbach, a professor of international human rights policy at Germany's University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, said that the German government should take a "clear position" on Hong Kong.
//Although Germany has joined 22 countries at the United Nations in signing an official statement condemning the Xinjiang Uighur internment camps, Berlin, and the EU, have yet to come up with a common framework for action, and Merkel has been criticized for being too soft in condemning the camps.
//“The extent of human rights violations has greatly increased under President Xi Jinping. It is inappropriate to court the Chinese party-state in this situation — as Germany is doing with a special EU-China summit scheduled to take place in Leipzig in 2020," said Kinzelbach.
//Berlin treads more carefully with Beijing and has tried to maintain a less volatile relationship as China is one of Germany's most important trade partners
//"Given the escalation in Hong Kong, it would be correct — and comparatively easy — to review existing export regulations," said Kinzelbach, adding that sanctions available to address human rights violations could include arms embargoes, restrictions on entry for individuals and the freezing of accounts.
//However, any sanctions regime targeting China-related human rights abuses would also have to be made within the framework of the European Union, and this is complicated by the disparity of positions in the EU on China policy.
//"In the long term, democracy and human rights should be put higher than economic profit, because we see that China is a dictatorship and you never know how economic growth can develop in a dictatorship," said Jensen.
Full article: Deutsche Welle, (12 May)
Further reading:
Death penalty riles European allies
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2018/09/07/2003699934
#Germany #Dictatorship #CCP #HongKongProtest #Xinjiang #Uighur #HumanRights
Deutsche Welle
China Cables: Germany under pressure to respond to Beijing's Uighur internment
Leaked Chinese papers have revealed the largest internment of minorities since World War II. In view of the many German business ties with China, Berlin is under pressure to answer for its most important trading partner.
#Newspaper
China cuts Uighur births with IUDs, abortion, sterilization
//The Chinese government is taking draconian measures to slash birth rates among Uighurs and other minorities as part of a sweeping campaign to curb its Muslim population, even as it encourages some of the country’s Han majority to have more children.
//The state regularly subjects minority women to pregnancy checks, and forces intrauterine devices, sterilization and even abortion on hundreds of thousands, the interviews and data show. Even while the use of IUDs and sterilization has fallen nationwide, it is rising sharply in Xinjiang.
//The population control measures are backed by mass detention both as a threat and as a punishment for failure to comply... with the parents of three or more ripped away from their families unless they can pay huge fines. Police raid homes, terrifying parents as they search for hidden children.
//Birth rates in the mostly Uighur regions of Hotan and Kashgar plunged by more than 60% from 2015 to 2018... Across the Xinjiang region, birth rates continue to plummet, falling nearly 24% last year
//State-backed scholars have warned for years that large rural religious families were at the root of bombings, knifings and other attacks the Xinjiang government blamed on Islamic terrorists. The growing Muslim population was a breeding ground for poverty and extremism which could “heighten political risk,”... Another cited as a key obstacle the religious belief that “the fetus is a gift from God.”
//Outside experts say the birth control campaign is part of a state-orchestrated assault on the Uighurs to purge them of their faith and identity and forcibly assimilate them. They’re subjected to political and religious re-education in camps and forced labor in factories, while their children are indoctrinated in orphanages. Uighurs, who are often but not always Muslim, are also tracked by a vast digital surveillance apparatus.
//“It’s genocide, full stop... These are direct means of genetically reducing the Uighur population.”
//of 484 camp detainees listed in Karakax county in Xinjiang, 149 were there for having too many children
//While fines also apply to Han Chinese, only minorities are sent to the detention camps if they cannot pay
//In other efforts to change the population balance of Xinjiang, China is dangling land, jobs and economic subsidies to lure Han migrants there. It is also aggressively promoting intermarriage between Han Chinese and Uighurs
Full Article: AP News, (29-Jun)
#Xinjiang #Uighur #Han #Genocide #Muslim
China cuts Uighur births with IUDs, abortion, sterilization
//The Chinese government is taking draconian measures to slash birth rates among Uighurs and other minorities as part of a sweeping campaign to curb its Muslim population, even as it encourages some of the country’s Han majority to have more children.
//The state regularly subjects minority women to pregnancy checks, and forces intrauterine devices, sterilization and even abortion on hundreds of thousands, the interviews and data show. Even while the use of IUDs and sterilization has fallen nationwide, it is rising sharply in Xinjiang.
//The population control measures are backed by mass detention both as a threat and as a punishment for failure to comply... with the parents of three or more ripped away from their families unless they can pay huge fines. Police raid homes, terrifying parents as they search for hidden children.
//Birth rates in the mostly Uighur regions of Hotan and Kashgar plunged by more than 60% from 2015 to 2018... Across the Xinjiang region, birth rates continue to plummet, falling nearly 24% last year
//State-backed scholars have warned for years that large rural religious families were at the root of bombings, knifings and other attacks the Xinjiang government blamed on Islamic terrorists. The growing Muslim population was a breeding ground for poverty and extremism which could “heighten political risk,”... Another cited as a key obstacle the religious belief that “the fetus is a gift from God.”
//Outside experts say the birth control campaign is part of a state-orchestrated assault on the Uighurs to purge them of their faith and identity and forcibly assimilate them. They’re subjected to political and religious re-education in camps and forced labor in factories, while their children are indoctrinated in orphanages. Uighurs, who are often but not always Muslim, are also tracked by a vast digital surveillance apparatus.
//“It’s genocide, full stop... These are direct means of genetically reducing the Uighur population.”
//of 484 camp detainees listed in Karakax county in Xinjiang, 149 were there for having too many children
//While fines also apply to Han Chinese, only minorities are sent to the detention camps if they cannot pay
//In other efforts to change the population balance of Xinjiang, China is dangling land, jobs and economic subsidies to lure Han migrants there. It is also aggressively promoting intermarriage between Han Chinese and Uighurs
Full Article: AP News, (29-Jun)
#Xinjiang #Uighur #Han #Genocide #Muslim
AP NEWS
China locks down Xinjiang a decade after deadly ethnic riots
ISTANBUL (AP) — A decade after deadly riots tore through his hometown, Kamilane Abudushalamu still vividly recalls the violence that left him an exile. On July 5, 2009, Abudushalamu was hiding with his father on the 10th floor of an office tower in Urumqi…
China defends legal detention of Uighur model in Xinjiang in the video published by BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) released a video that Merdan Ghappar, a 31-year-old Uighur model, was detained in a Chinese detention camp and handcuffed to a bed earlier this month. More than two weeks later, Chinese officials responded to the BBC that Mr. Ghappar was “lawfully detained”.
The BBC quoted a statement written by the Xinjiang government that according to Article 37 of the Prison Law of the People's Republic of China, the people’s government shall assist released prisoners to settle. The statement explained that Mr. Ghappar had committed self-harm and “excessive acts against the police” during the transfer. Therefore, law enforcement officials took legal measures to stop him and lifted those measures after he stabilised emotionally. The statement mentioned Mr. Ghappar resisted epidemic prevention staff when they tried to check his body temperature, verbally insulted them and attacked them. Due to these illegal behaviours, the police had taken forcible measures and the case remained in process. However, the statement did not respond to the allegations in Mr. Ghappar’s film about the unsanitary conditions of the detention camp and the beatings. Relevant statement cannot be found.
#China #XinJiang #Uighur #Model #MerdanGhappar #detentioncamp
Source: Stand News #Aug18
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) released a video that Merdan Ghappar, a 31-year-old Uighur model, was detained in a Chinese detention camp and handcuffed to a bed earlier this month. More than two weeks later, Chinese officials responded to the BBC that Mr. Ghappar was “lawfully detained”.
The BBC quoted a statement written by the Xinjiang government that according to Article 37 of the Prison Law of the People's Republic of China, the people’s government shall assist released prisoners to settle. The statement explained that Mr. Ghappar had committed self-harm and “excessive acts against the police” during the transfer. Therefore, law enforcement officials took legal measures to stop him and lifted those measures after he stabilised emotionally. The statement mentioned Mr. Ghappar resisted epidemic prevention staff when they tried to check his body temperature, verbally insulted them and attacked them. Due to these illegal behaviours, the police had taken forcible measures and the case remained in process. However, the statement did not respond to the allegations in Mr. Ghappar’s film about the unsanitary conditions of the detention camp and the beatings. Relevant statement cannot be found.
#China #XinJiang #Uighur #Model #MerdanGhappar #detentioncamp
Source: Stand News #Aug18
Human rights groups issued open letter calling for UN investigation into humanitarian and genocide crimes against Uighurs
More than 20 human rights groups on Tuesday (15 September) issued an open letter calling for a United Nations investigation into humanitarian and genocide crimes against the Uighurs in China's Xinjiang, where more than a million people are currently detained in camps.
The letter was signed by human rights organisations including the Uighur Human Rights Project and Genocide Watch, both based in the United States. The open letter states: 'These atrocities include the arbitrary placement of 1 million to 1.8 million people in detention camps, massive political indoctrination programs, forced disappearances, the destruction of cultural venues, forced labor, disproportionate incarceration rates, and coercive birth control actions and policies.'
These human rights groups said the measures met the threshold for genocide, a major international crime under the UN Genocide Convention, and asked the UN Human Rights Council to initiate an investigation. China has claimed that the detention camps are vocational training centres as part of its counter-terrorism and de-radicalisation measures.
The Convention prohibits "measures intended to prevent births" within an ethnic or religious group. In international law, crimes against humanity are defined as widespread and systematic crimes. Genocide, on the other hand, is defined as the attempted extermination of part of a population, but is more difficult to provide evidence.
Source: Apple Daily #Sep15
https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20200915/CR242PNX4JDVLKG3GB2KBKGFE4/
#HumanRights #Uighur #Xinjiang
More than 20 human rights groups on Tuesday (15 September) issued an open letter calling for a United Nations investigation into humanitarian and genocide crimes against the Uighurs in China's Xinjiang, where more than a million people are currently detained in camps.
The letter was signed by human rights organisations including the Uighur Human Rights Project and Genocide Watch, both based in the United States. The open letter states: 'These atrocities include the arbitrary placement of 1 million to 1.8 million people in detention camps, massive political indoctrination programs, forced disappearances, the destruction of cultural venues, forced labor, disproportionate incarceration rates, and coercive birth control actions and policies.'
These human rights groups said the measures met the threshold for genocide, a major international crime under the UN Genocide Convention, and asked the UN Human Rights Council to initiate an investigation. China has claimed that the detention camps are vocational training centres as part of its counter-terrorism and de-radicalisation measures.
The Convention prohibits "measures intended to prevent births" within an ethnic or religious group. In international law, crimes against humanity are defined as widespread and systematic crimes. Genocide, on the other hand, is defined as the attempted extermination of part of a population, but is more difficult to provide evidence.
Source: Apple Daily #Sep15
https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20200915/CR242PNX4JDVLKG3GB2KBKGFE4/
#HumanRights #Uighur #Xinjiang
U.S. House of Representatives to propose banning imports of forced labour products from Xinjiang next week
The human rights issue in Xinjiang has recently become a new point of contention between the U.S. and China. On Monday (14 Sept), the U.S. announced that it will ban imports of five goods from Xinjiang, including cotton and tomatoes, for violating the rights of ethnic minorities in the region.
#Xinjiang #HumanRightsAbuse #USChinaRelations #Uyghur #Uighur #TradeWar #Cotton #Tomatoes
Source: Apple Daily #Sep19
https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20200919/UZATUFOPMRCOJO2YJA463CAFDA/
The human rights issue in Xinjiang has recently become a new point of contention between the U.S. and China. On Monday (14 Sept), the U.S. announced that it will ban imports of five goods from Xinjiang, including cotton and tomatoes, for violating the rights of ethnic minorities in the region.
#Xinjiang #HumanRightsAbuse #USChinaRelations #Uyghur #Uighur #TradeWar #Cotton #Tomatoes
Source: Apple Daily #Sep19
https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20200919/UZATUFOPMRCOJO2YJA463CAFDA/
Turkey Criticised China's Xinjiang Rule and Urged Respect for Uighur Turks Human Rights
On the Eve of the China National Day celebration, Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) raised concerns over Beijing's Xinjiang policy, including arbitrary practice against Uighurs. The party urged respect of Uighur Turks and Muslim minorities rights. The Chinese Embassy in Turkey issued a statement to show "strong opposition".
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, the Justice and Development Party spokesman Omer Celik said that Turkey had been closely monitoring human rights and freedom of belief in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). He believed that the XUAR De-extremification Regulation, implemented in 2017, contained poor and arbitrary practices against Uyghurs, including arbitrary detentions, limitations of religious freedom and forced-teaching of Chinese. These incidents attracted international community attention, and the UN raised their concerns in reports on related issues.
Source: Apple Daily #Oct01
https://bit.ly/34VOuNK
#Xinjiang #Uighur #Turkey #HumanRights #ReligionFreedom #omerCrlik #XUAR #AKParty
(Note: The translation reference the following news for the exact wordings of Justice and Development Party spokesman Omer Celik:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-chinas-uighur-policy-on-ankara-s-agenda/1990053
https://www.trtworld.com/turkey/turkey-reiterates-concern-over-china-s-rights-violations-against-uighurs-40386
)
On the Eve of the China National Day celebration, Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) raised concerns over Beijing's Xinjiang policy, including arbitrary practice against Uighurs. The party urged respect of Uighur Turks and Muslim minorities rights. The Chinese Embassy in Turkey issued a statement to show "strong opposition".
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, the Justice and Development Party spokesman Omer Celik said that Turkey had been closely monitoring human rights and freedom of belief in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). He believed that the XUAR De-extremification Regulation, implemented in 2017, contained poor and arbitrary practices against Uyghurs, including arbitrary detentions, limitations of religious freedom and forced-teaching of Chinese. These incidents attracted international community attention, and the UN raised their concerns in reports on related issues.
Source: Apple Daily #Oct01
https://bit.ly/34VOuNK
#Xinjiang #Uighur #Turkey #HumanRights #ReligionFreedom #omerCrlik #XUAR #AKParty
(Note: The translation reference the following news for the exact wordings of Justice and Development Party spokesman Omer Celik:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-chinas-uighur-policy-on-ankara-s-agenda/1990053
https://www.trtworld.com/turkey/turkey-reiterates-concern-over-china-s-rights-violations-against-uighurs-40386
)
Uighurs: China rebuffs Pope’s criticism as “groundless”
Beijing has dismissed Pope’s Francis’s criticism of its treatment of China’s Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang.
It came after the head of the Rome Catholic Church joined a grown group of international voices describing the Uighurs as “persecuted” in a new book.
China’s foreign ministry said the Pope’s remarks were “groundless”.
It is believed that the Chinese government has detained up to a million Uighurs in what the state defines as “re-education camps”. It has also been alleged they are forcing Uighur woman to be sterilised tor fitted with contraceptive devices, apparently to control the population growth.
Source: BBC #Nov25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-55067700
#RomeCatholic #China #Reglious #Uighur #Xinjiang
Beijing has dismissed Pope’s Francis’s criticism of its treatment of China’s Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang.
It came after the head of the Rome Catholic Church joined a grown group of international voices describing the Uighurs as “persecuted” in a new book.
China’s foreign ministry said the Pope’s remarks were “groundless”.
It is believed that the Chinese government has detained up to a million Uighurs in what the state defines as “re-education camps”. It has also been alleged they are forcing Uighur woman to be sterilised tor fitted with contraceptive devices, apparently to control the population growth.
Source: BBC #Nov25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-55067700
#RomeCatholic #China #Reglious #Uighur #Xinjiang
ICC rejects Uighur genocide complaint against China
International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors have rejected calls by exiled Uighurs to investigate China for alleged genocide and crimes against humanity, the chief prosecutor's office said in a report on Dec 14 2020.
The Uighurs handed a huge dossier of evidence to the court in July 2020 accusing China of locking more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in re-education camps and of forcibly sterilising women. But, the office of prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said it was unable to act because the alleged acts happened on the territory of China, which is not a signatory to The Hague-based ICC.
Source: France 24 #Dec14
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20201214-icc-rejects-uighur-genocide-complaint-against-china
#Uighur #ICC #genocide #Muslim
International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors have rejected calls by exiled Uighurs to investigate China for alleged genocide and crimes against humanity, the chief prosecutor's office said in a report on Dec 14 2020.
The Uighurs handed a huge dossier of evidence to the court in July 2020 accusing China of locking more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in re-education camps and of forcibly sterilising women. But, the office of prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said it was unable to act because the alleged acts happened on the territory of China, which is not a signatory to The Hague-based ICC.
Source: France 24 #Dec14
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20201214-icc-rejects-uighur-genocide-complaint-against-china
#Uighur #ICC #genocide #Muslim
International Criminal Court Rejects Uighur Genocide Accusations Against China
Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague rejected the calls from Uighurs outside China for the investigation against China's alleged genocide and crimes against humanity.
Uighurs outside China submitted hundreds of pages of evidence to the ICC in July, accusing China of setting up “re-education camps” in Xinjiang, detaining more than a million Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities, and forcing women to undergo sterilisation.
However, the office of ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that they were unable to take action as the alleged acts took place within Chinese territory, which is not a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The annual report also noted, “no basis to proceed at this time” regarding allegations that Uighurs were forcibly deported from Tajikistan and Cambodia to China.
Nevertheless, the Uighurs argued that actions can still be taken even if the alleged deportations did not take place on Chinese territory because part of the criminal conducted in Tajik and Cambodian, which are parties to the Roman Statute of the ICC.
#Uighur #Xinjiang #Genocide #China #ICC #Cambodia #Tajikistan #TheHague
Source: Apple Daily #Dec15
https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20201215/I223SKDMYNGSVFTUBP5RM75PFU/
Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague rejected the calls from Uighurs outside China for the investigation against China's alleged genocide and crimes against humanity.
Uighurs outside China submitted hundreds of pages of evidence to the ICC in July, accusing China of setting up “re-education camps” in Xinjiang, detaining more than a million Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities, and forcing women to undergo sterilisation.
However, the office of ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that they were unable to take action as the alleged acts took place within Chinese territory, which is not a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The annual report also noted, “no basis to proceed at this time” regarding allegations that Uighurs were forcibly deported from Tajikistan and Cambodia to China.
Nevertheless, the Uighurs argued that actions can still be taken even if the alleged deportations did not take place on Chinese territory because part of the criminal conducted in Tajik and Cambodian, which are parties to the Roman Statute of the ICC.
#Uighur #Xinjiang #Genocide #China #ICC #Cambodia #Tajikistan #TheHague
Source: Apple Daily #Dec15
https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20201215/I223SKDMYNGSVFTUBP5RM75PFU/
Australia Seeks UN Probe Into New China Uighur Abuse Claims
Australia has called for a United Nations investigation into allegations of human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region. In the statement, Australia also urged China to allow international observers, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, to be given immediate and unfettered access to Xinjiang
Former detainees and a guard said they experienced or witnessed systematic rape and torture inside China’s so-called re-education camps where the UN says anywhere from tens of thousands to “upwards of 1 million” Uighurs have been detained.
Source: Bloomberg #Feb04
https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2021-02-04/australia-asks-for-un-probe-into-new-china-uighur-abuse-claims
#Uighur #Xinjiang #Re-educatonCamp #HumanRightsAbuses
Australia has called for a United Nations investigation into allegations of human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region. In the statement, Australia also urged China to allow international observers, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, to be given immediate and unfettered access to Xinjiang
Former detainees and a guard said they experienced or witnessed systematic rape and torture inside China’s so-called re-education camps where the UN says anywhere from tens of thousands to “upwards of 1 million” Uighurs have been detained.
Source: Bloomberg #Feb04
https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2021-02-04/australia-asks-for-un-probe-into-new-china-uighur-abuse-claims
#Uighur #Xinjiang #Re-educatonCamp #HumanRightsAbuses
'Their goal is to destroy everyone': Uighur camp detainees allege systematic rape
Tursunay Ziawudun spent nine months inside China's vast and secretive system of internment camps in the Xinjiang region. She fled Xinjiang after her release and is now in the US.
Ziawudun said women were removed from the cells "every night" and raped by one or more masked Chinese men. She said she was tortured and later gang-raped on three occasions, each time by two or three men.
The BBC also interviewed a Kazakh woman from Xinjiang who was detained for 18 months in the camp system, who said she was forced to strip Uighur women naked and handcuff them, before leaving them alone with Chinese men. Afterwards, she cleaned the rooms, she said.
The Chinese men "would pay money to have their pick of the prettiest young inmates", she said.
Asked if there was a system of organised rape, she said: "Yes, rape."
Qelbinur Sedik, an Uzbek woman from Xinjiang, was among the Chinese language teachers brought into the camps and coerced into giving lessons to the detainees. Sedik has since fled China and spoken publicly about her experience.
The women's camp was "tightly controlled", Sedik told the BBC. But she heard stories, she said - signs and rumours of rape.
Source: BBC #Feb02
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55794071
#Uighur #Xinjiang #ReEducaitonCamp #DetentionCamp #China #Rape
Tursunay Ziawudun spent nine months inside China's vast and secretive system of internment camps in the Xinjiang region. She fled Xinjiang after her release and is now in the US.
Ziawudun said women were removed from the cells "every night" and raped by one or more masked Chinese men. She said she was tortured and later gang-raped on three occasions, each time by two or three men.
The BBC also interviewed a Kazakh woman from Xinjiang who was detained for 18 months in the camp system, who said she was forced to strip Uighur women naked and handcuff them, before leaving them alone with Chinese men. Afterwards, she cleaned the rooms, she said.
The Chinese men "would pay money to have their pick of the prettiest young inmates", she said.
Asked if there was a system of organised rape, she said: "Yes, rape."
Qelbinur Sedik, an Uzbek woman from Xinjiang, was among the Chinese language teachers brought into the camps and coerced into giving lessons to the detainees. Sedik has since fled China and spoken publicly about her experience.
The women's camp was "tightly controlled", Sedik told the BBC. But she heard stories, she said - signs and rumours of rape.
Source: BBC #Feb02
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55794071
#Uighur #Xinjiang #ReEducaitonCamp #DetentionCamp #China #Rape
BBC News
'Their goal is to destroy everyone': Uighur camp detainees allege systematic rape
In new testimony, former detainees of China's detention camps describe systematic rape and torture.
UK must fix modern slavery laws to help protect Uighurs in China, say MPs
The government introduced the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 “The Modern Slavery Act is out of date, has no teeth, and we do not accept that businesses should be excused from doing basic due diligence to guarantee that their supply chains are fully transparent and free from forced labour and slavery,” the report by MPs said.
The UK government must toughen measures to tackle modern slavery, including more penalties to compel businesses to ensure Uighur forced labour is not used in their supply chains.
The report called for more penalties to compel companies to ensure supply chains do not include forced labour.
Source: The Guardian #Mar14
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/17/uk-must-fix-modern-slavery-laws-to-help-protect-uighurs-in-china-say-mps
#ModernSlaveryAct #UK #Uighur #China #CCP
The government introduced the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 “The Modern Slavery Act is out of date, has no teeth, and we do not accept that businesses should be excused from doing basic due diligence to guarantee that their supply chains are fully transparent and free from forced labour and slavery,” the report by MPs said.
The UK government must toughen measures to tackle modern slavery, including more penalties to compel businesses to ensure Uighur forced labour is not used in their supply chains.
The report called for more penalties to compel companies to ensure supply chains do not include forced labour.
Source: The Guardian #Mar14
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/17/uk-must-fix-modern-slavery-laws-to-help-protect-uighurs-in-china-say-mps
#ModernSlaveryAct #UK #Uighur #China #CCP
Tiananmen Square, Uyghur Court: Tower Hamlets plans name changes in solidarity
The Chinese embassy is to be relocated to the East End of London, Tower Hamlets.
The councillors said they welcomed the relocation of the embassy from the West End but “we must continue to make clear where our own standards and principles apply”.
The motion which proposed to rename roads and buildings in the surrounding area of the site Tiananmen Square, Uyghur Court, Hong Kong Road and Tibet Hill was passed. This showed “support for the freedom and diversity of our borough”.
The repression of Uighur Muslims is particularly sensitive for Tower Hamlets, which has the highest proportion of Muslim residents (38%) of any borough.
Source: The Guardian #Mar19
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/19/uyghur-court-hong-kong-road-tower-hamlets-plans-name-changes-in-solidarity?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
#TowerHamlets #London #UK #ChineseEmbassy #Uighur #UighurMuslim
The Chinese embassy is to be relocated to the East End of London, Tower Hamlets.
The councillors said they welcomed the relocation of the embassy from the West End but “we must continue to make clear where our own standards and principles apply”.
The motion which proposed to rename roads and buildings in the surrounding area of the site Tiananmen Square, Uyghur Court, Hong Kong Road and Tibet Hill was passed. This showed “support for the freedom and diversity of our borough”.
The repression of Uighur Muslims is particularly sensitive for Tower Hamlets, which has the highest proportion of Muslim residents (38%) of any borough.
Source: The Guardian #Mar19
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/19/uyghur-court-hong-kong-road-tower-hamlets-plans-name-changes-in-solidarity?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
#TowerHamlets #London #UK #ChineseEmbassy #Uighur #UighurMuslim
Germany is supplying Uighur ‘gulag’ in Xinjiang
German companies are supplying the technical backbone for the vast textile industry in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, where at least half a million members of the persecuted Uighur minority have allegedly been forced to labour in the cotton fields.
Leaked trade figures from the Chinese customs authority underline the extent of Germany’s commercial entanglement in the region despite numerous claims of human rights abuses and “cultural genocide”.
Source: Times #Feb19
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germany-is-supplying-uighur-gulag-in-xinjiang-n3lqv7vmc
#Germany #Uighur #Xinjiang #HumanRights
German companies are supplying the technical backbone for the vast textile industry in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, where at least half a million members of the persecuted Uighur minority have allegedly been forced to labour in the cotton fields.
Leaked trade figures from the Chinese customs authority underline the extent of Germany’s commercial entanglement in the region despite numerous claims of human rights abuses and “cultural genocide”.
Source: Times #Feb19
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germany-is-supplying-uighur-gulag-in-xinjiang-n3lqv7vmc
#Germany #Uighur #Xinjiang #HumanRights
‘We don’t know if he is alive’: Uighur woman speaks out on jailing of father in Xinjiang
The last time Jewher Ilham’s family saw her father, he had lost 40 pounds and his hair had turned grey.
“He used to be a pretty chubby man and now he has nothing. And all his hair turned grey. But other than that he looked okay. He’s a very strong person, I mean a mentally strong person, or at least that is what I knew of my father. And I hope he can remain the same.”
Ilham Tohti, Jewher’s father (Jewher is an Uighur, a Turkic ethnic group whom take their father’s first name as their surname), is a former economics lecturer from Minzu University, Beijing.
Source: Irish Times #Apr29
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/we-don-t-know-if-he-is-alive-uighur-woman-speaks-out-on-jailing-of-father-in-xinjiang-1.4551124
#Uighur #Xinjiang #China #Beijing
The last time Jewher Ilham’s family saw her father, he had lost 40 pounds and his hair had turned grey.
“He used to be a pretty chubby man and now he has nothing. And all his hair turned grey. But other than that he looked okay. He’s a very strong person, I mean a mentally strong person, or at least that is what I knew of my father. And I hope he can remain the same.”
Ilham Tohti, Jewher’s father (Jewher is an Uighur, a Turkic ethnic group whom take their father’s first name as their surname), is a former economics lecturer from Minzu University, Beijing.
Source: Irish Times #Apr29
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/we-don-t-know-if-he-is-alive-uighur-woman-speaks-out-on-jailing-of-father-in-xinjiang-1.4551124
#Uighur #Xinjiang #China #Beijing
Fraud, force and genocide: An extraordinary day in the annals of Australia’s national life
Genocidal? Who, us? It was an extraordinary day in the annals of Australia’s national life. China’s representative in Australia opened his home to reporters on Wednesday to persuade them that the Beijing government wanted only the best for its Uighur ethnic minority in the northwestern province of Xinjiang.
The government of the US, the parliaments of Canada and the Netherlands and Britain’s House of Lords have damned China’s treatment of its Uighur people as the gravest possible crime against humanity – genocide. Neither Australia’s government nor Parliament has done so. Yet.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald #Apr10
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/fraud-force-and-genocide-an-extraordinary-day-in-the-annals-of-australia-s-national-life-20210409-p57hyy.html
#Australia #Beijing #Uighur #Xinjiang
Genocidal? Who, us? It was an extraordinary day in the annals of Australia’s national life. China’s representative in Australia opened his home to reporters on Wednesday to persuade them that the Beijing government wanted only the best for its Uighur ethnic minority in the northwestern province of Xinjiang.
The government of the US, the parliaments of Canada and the Netherlands and Britain’s House of Lords have damned China’s treatment of its Uighur people as the gravest possible crime against humanity – genocide. Neither Australia’s government nor Parliament has done so. Yet.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald #Apr10
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/fraud-force-and-genocide-an-extraordinary-day-in-the-annals-of-australia-s-national-life-20210409-p57hyy.html
#Australia #Beijing #Uighur #Xinjiang
#WolfWarrior #Disinformation
Chinese #ForeignMinister tells Germans ‘you know what #genocide looks like’
//It is estimated that 1 million Uighurs have been detained in so-called re-education camps in Xinjiang.
China’s Foreign Minister #WangYi rejected academic research detailing the abuses, including forced labour and forced sterilisations of women.
#Uighur women who have been detained in the camps have detailed systemic rape, abuse and torture. China has refused to allow independent investigators into the camps and denies any abuses are taking place.
“There is no forced labour in China,” Wang said. “There’s no such thing [as] concentration camps in #Xinjiang.”
“And there’s no such thing as genocide - our European friends know what is genocide,” he said, referring to the Holocaust when Nazi Germany murdered 6 million Jews during World War II.
#Buetikofer, who leads the European Parliament’s China delegation, was one of the politicians sanctioned.
Buetikofer described as reckless Wang’s attempts to use the Holocaust to dismiss claims of crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.
“Wang Yi basically tells us ‘shut up, you shouldn’t talk’.
“The Holocaust should not be used as a diplomatic football for rhetorical gains,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
“The fact of the matter is that it has been precisely because of our wretched history that we have built our democracies and European Union on the basis of adherence to human rights and the rule of law. For us it is an historic obligation.
“If this People’s Republic of China had nothing to hide, they would open up and allow a full independent investigation; no amount of aggressive wolf-warrior diplomacy will obscure the fact that they still have not done so,” he said.//
Read the article:
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/chinese-foreign-minister-tells-germans-you-know-what-genocide-looks-like-20210526-p57vdy.html
Source: Sydney Morning Herald #May27
Chinese #ForeignMinister tells Germans ‘you know what #genocide looks like’
//It is estimated that 1 million Uighurs have been detained in so-called re-education camps in Xinjiang.
China’s Foreign Minister #WangYi rejected academic research detailing the abuses, including forced labour and forced sterilisations of women.
#Uighur women who have been detained in the camps have detailed systemic rape, abuse and torture. China has refused to allow independent investigators into the camps and denies any abuses are taking place.
“There is no forced labour in China,” Wang said. “There’s no such thing [as] concentration camps in #Xinjiang.”
“And there’s no such thing as genocide - our European friends know what is genocide,” he said, referring to the Holocaust when Nazi Germany murdered 6 million Jews during World War II.
#Buetikofer, who leads the European Parliament’s China delegation, was one of the politicians sanctioned.
Buetikofer described as reckless Wang’s attempts to use the Holocaust to dismiss claims of crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.
“Wang Yi basically tells us ‘shut up, you shouldn’t talk’.
“The Holocaust should not be used as a diplomatic football for rhetorical gains,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
“The fact of the matter is that it has been precisely because of our wretched history that we have built our democracies and European Union on the basis of adherence to human rights and the rule of law. For us it is an historic obligation.
“If this People’s Republic of China had nothing to hide, they would open up and allow a full independent investigation; no amount of aggressive wolf-warrior diplomacy will obscure the fact that they still have not done so,” he said.//
Read the article:
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/chinese-foreign-minister-tells-germans-you-know-what-genocide-looks-like-20210526-p57vdy.html
Source: Sydney Morning Herald #May27
The Sydney Morning Herald
Chinese foreign minister tells Germans ‘you know what genocide looks like’
During the Munich Security Conference, Wang Yi said sanctions imposed by the European Union over human rights violations in Xinjiang made China feel bullied.
Bachelet seeks Xinjiang trip amid reports of Uighur persecution
UN human rights chief Michele Bachelet has said she hopes to agree terms for a visit this year to China, including its Xinjiang region, to look into reports of serious violations against the Uighur minority.
“I continue to discuss with China modalities for a visit, including meaningful access, to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” Bachelet said on Monday, addressing the opening of a Human Rights Council session in Geneva.
Source: Aljazerra #Jun21
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/21/bachelet-seeks-2021-xinjiang-visit-amid-alleged-rights-abuses
#China #Bachelet #Xinjiang #Uighur
UN human rights chief Michele Bachelet has said she hopes to agree terms for a visit this year to China, including its Xinjiang region, to look into reports of serious violations against the Uighur minority.
“I continue to discuss with China modalities for a visit, including meaningful access, to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” Bachelet said on Monday, addressing the opening of a Human Rights Council session in Geneva.
Source: Aljazerra #Jun21
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/21/bachelet-seeks-2021-xinjiang-visit-amid-alleged-rights-abuses
#China #Bachelet #Xinjiang #Uighur
China ‘threatens families to silence Uighur exiles in Britain’
Uighurs in the UK are being intimidated into silence by Chinese authorities as the “long arm” of the repressive regime reaches exiles in Europe, a report has found.
Thousands of members of the minority group who left China to live in western democracies are feared to be censoring themselves out of concern for the safety of their families. Those who dare to speak out about human rights abuses in their home country say they face threats from officials as well as pressure to inform on their expatriate communities.
Source: The Times #Feb10
https://t.co/e7Rx2MRJMF
#China #UK #Uighur #Longarm
Uighurs in the UK are being intimidated into silence by Chinese authorities as the “long arm” of the repressive regime reaches exiles in Europe, a report has found.
Thousands of members of the minority group who left China to live in western democracies are feared to be censoring themselves out of concern for the safety of their families. Those who dare to speak out about human rights abuses in their home country say they face threats from officials as well as pressure to inform on their expatriate communities.
Source: The Times #Feb10
https://t.co/e7Rx2MRJMF
#China #UK #Uighur #Longarm