Written by: Aarushi Bansal
Edited by: Vedika Mandapati
Designed by: Saisha Singh
China long denied the mass detaining of Uyghurs, but recently admitted to the presence of what they refer to as “re-education” camps where up to 3 million people are estimated to be locked up with a trial or charge. They , the Uyghurs, have been subjected to forced indoctrination, forced labor, and even forced sterilization.
Xinjiang, a region in China’s Far West, is home to the Uyghurs, the Turkic-speaking ethnic minority that has lived for years under increasingly expansive surveillance and repression in the region, and now, as discovered, detained as well. One may be familiar with the recent #BoycottMulan which is associated with this subject matter. The live-action remake of “Mulan” by Disney drew a fresh wave of criticism for being filmed in Xinjiang.
Throughout the world, the revealing of these “re-education” camps has spurred rage as activist movements and individuals fight for justice, while several governments remain silent about China’s treatment of the Uyghurs. The evidence of cultural genocide, the destruction of Uyghur mosques, shrines, and other cultural heritage sites are impossible to deny as recent evidence has unfolded. More people in Muslim-majority countries are becoming aware of Chinese actions in Xinjiang and beginning to see China as an anti-Muslim nation.
Civil groups in Muslim-majority countries are organizing boycotts, protests, and media campaigns in a bid to bring the plight of the Uyghurs to global attention, while their governments remain in a state of reticence. Although trivial, their efforts are slowly shifting the behavior of their silent governments as opposition figures and officials at lower levels of government have begun to speak out in response to pressure from the people.
Subsequently, in other nations, individuals are creating awareness of this injustice at local levels.
In Malaysia, Ahmad Farouk Musa, director of the Islamic Renaissance Front, has been organizing events, responding to Chinese propaganda in the media, and trying to push the new government to speak out for Uyghurs. In Turkey, Kadir Akinci, a businessman who runs a machinery company, has successfully led several local companies to boycott Chinese products in solidarity with the Uyghurs, with his effort receiving wide attention in domestic media. Although minute, these sparks are creating a knock-on awareness effect to other individuals and eventually, the authorities.
In other parts of the world, the cause of the Uyghurs has led to violent unrest. In Pakistan, the radical Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir has criticized Prime Minister Imran Khan and his ruling party for their close ties to Beijing. Militants have attacked Chinese nationals and businesses, referring to China’s crimes against Muslims in Xinjiang. Media companies, such as the New Arab and Al Jazeera, have reported on Xinjiang and such coverage has since spread throughout the Middle East. Public outrage has grown as a result.
If we can see one pattern per se to fight for this injustice, it is clearly the us, the people, creating the change and as a effect, bringing attention to national media companies and governments to spread our local impact globally. The ‘public’ voice creates pressure from below which brings an act of injustice into attention. Consequently, this creates national clusters advocating for change, and hence, eventually brings global attention. Globally, while this injustice against the minority group has led to sparks of hope and the raising of awareness regarding human rights violations, China has borne no significant ‘official’ impacts.
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