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Visiting East Turkistan is impossible for any Uyghur living in the diaspora. Once their homeland, has now become an open-air prison, tightly controlled by severe restrictions on freedom of movement and enforced through pervasive and advanced surveillance systems. Those who can visit East Turkistan are international journalists, diplomats, and Chinese tourists who seek a sinicized version of Uyghur culture and religion. Uyghurs, however, are forbidden from displaying any genuine expressions of their cultural, religious, and linguistic identity. Any deviation from the Chinese Communist Party values, such as practising Islam, can result in Uyghurs being sent to concentration camps or high-security prisons. This repression is particularly severe during the holy month of Ramadan, where Uyghurs are prohibited from praying, fasting, celebrating Eid, or even visiting mosques—many of which have been demolished or assimilated into Chinese culture.
The Chinese government’s systematic persecution and plan to eradicate the Uyghurs’ distinct identity has escalated dramatically since 2017. Between 2017 and 2019, an estimated 3 million Uyghurs have been arbitrarily detained in a mass network of concentration camps and subjected to political indoctrination, torture, rape, forced sterilization, forced labour, and other forms of inhumane treatment. Uyghur children have been forced transferred to Chinese boarding schools, forced sterilisations, and coerced IUD implants have cut the Uyghur birth rate in half, and the state-imposed forced labour scheme has expanded, implicating over 17 global industries and putting an approximate 1.6 million Uyghurs at risk of state-imposed forced labour transfers.
In 2021, the independent Uyghur Tribunal declared the Chinese government's atrocities in East Turkistan as genocide and crimes against humanity. This led to 11 national parliaments/senates and one government adopting resolutions recognizing the Uyghur genocide. Despite mounting evidence of atrocities in East Turkistan, many global governments maintain a business-as-usual approach, seemingly turning a blind eye to the dire implications for Uyghur human rights and the broader international order. Last year, the European Union resumed its human rights dialogue with China, which had been paused in 2019 following the EU's imposition of sanctions on Chinese officials implicated in the Uyghur genocide. The Chinese government regularly engages with members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), some of whom have visited East Turkistan and publicly praised the situation on the ground.
Despite gaining international attention, the Chinese government has intensified its propaganda efforts and disinformation campaigns to obscure the reality on the ground. In addition, ever since the start of the genocide, seven years ago, the Chinese government’s repression extends beyond East Turkistan, targeting Uyghur human rights defenders, journalists, activists, and members of the diaspora worldwide. The unprecedented scale of China’s transnational repression silences dissidents and instils fear, through physical and digital attacks, including assault, kidnapping, deportation, espionage, cyber-attacks, and online harassment.
My own case is indicative of the severity of the issue. I was forced to flee East Turkistan in 1995 due to my activism. After seeking political asylum in Germany, the Chinese government issued an INTERPOL Red Notice against me. From 1997 until 2018, I was frequently arrested and interrogated in Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, South Korea, the USA, and Italy. I was treated as a criminal by the United Nations, the European Parliament, the US Congress, and several other border agents. In 2011, following the events of 9/11, my red notice also falsely labelled me as a terrorist, a tactic commonly used by the Chinese government to unjustly accuse Uyghurs and subject them to lengthy prison sentences. In my case, the Chinese government was hoping that I would be extradited to China. Then in 2013, the Chinese government began targeting my family through a strategy known as ‘coercion-by-proxy’ and its specific manifestation of ‘hostage diplomacy’. Under this tactic, Chinese authorities attempt to pressure individuals into silence and prevent them from speaking out about human rights abuses by threatening the welfare of their family members in East Turkistan, including threats of harm and internment under extremist or separatist charges. In 2018, I tragically lost my mother who died in a camp, which I learned through the media. In recent years, I have learned that both of my brothers are incarcerated in East Turkistan, my brother serving a life sentence.
There is no limit to what the Chinese government is willing to do to prevent the world from seeing the true extent of its genocide. As the international community slowly grapples with the reality of what is happening on the ground, it is crucial to listen to the global Uyghur community and actively hold China accountable for its actions by utilising all available mechanisms provided by international law. It is beyond due time to act.
