UN issues report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang, says Uyghur and other ethnic minoritiesArbitrary and discriminatory detention, which may constitute“crimes against humanity”. Second,A recent U.S. State Department report detailed the Chinese government’s efforts to manipulate public opinion on Xinjiang. also,Nuri Turkel, president of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, recentlyWarned Taiwanese in Taipei that they could face a similar fate to China’s Uighurs and urged Taiwan to study the Uighur genocide. In this episode of the program, we will learn about the details together, and some of the content and the conversations of related people are recorded by Anke.
UN releases report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang
At midnight on Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland, more than ten minutes before the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Bachelet left office, the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights “Assessment of Human Rights Issues in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region” was finally released.The report pointed out that in the Chinese government’s anti-terrorism and“Extremism”In the context of the strategy, serious human rights violations in Xinjiang and the arbitrary and discriminatory detention of Uyghurs and other Muslim groups may constitute international crimes, particularly“crimes against humanity”。
about the so-called“Education and training center”Allegations of patterns of torture or ill-treatment in the facility system, the report argues, including forced medical treatment and poor detention conditions“is credible”, and called on governments, UN intergovernmental organizations and the human rights system, as well as the wider international community, to pay urgent attention to the situation on the ground. The report also recommends that the Chinese government act swiftly to release all those held in so-called education and training centers, prisons or detention facilities.
Following the release of the report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, from20country’s60A Uyghur group responded immediately. “This UN report is extremely important. It paves the way for meaningful and tangible action by member states, UN agencies and the business community.”Dolkun, President of the World Uyghur Congress·Issa said, “Accountability starts now”。
“Human Rights Watch” Sophie, Director of China∙Richardson (Sophie Richardson) issued a statement stating,“The High Commissioner’s solid findings explain why the Chinese government has gone to great lengths to prevent the publication of her Xinjiang report, which exposed sweeping human rights abuses in China. The UN Human Rights Council should use this report to launch a full investigation into the Chinese government’s crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and others, and hold those responsible to account.”
Secretary of State Blinken (Antony Blink) issued a statement on Thursday, noting that the United States welcomes the release of the report on human rights in Xinjiang by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which he said was a“Important report”the report describes the Chinese government’s targeting of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious groups“appalling”abuse, authoritative.
U.S. State Department says Chinese government manipulates public opinion on Xinjiang issue
The U.S. State Department released a report on August 24, stating that the Chinese government is actively trying to rewrite the global discourse on Xinjiang through various digital tools in an attempt to discredit the genocide and harm against the mainly Muslim Uighurs living there. The accusation of human sin.
The report highlights some previous research detailing Beijing’s disinformation campaign against Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities, noting that China uses so-called “cyber army” “astroturfing” to create false appearances in support of its policies , social media amplifies “positive stories” about Xinjiang, discredits critical reporting, and uses private media companies to orchestrate information manipulation abroad.
Chinese authorities have also hired a group of trolls to harass those who speak out against the Chinese government, especially in overseas Chinese diaspora communities, to intimidate them into silence, the report said, and the trolls’ attacks often turned into killings, rapes or assaults. threats; malicious cyberattacks; and other forms of cyberbullying. According to the report,
“Pro-China stakeholders use counter-narratives, conspiracy theories and irrelevant news content to swipe the information ecosystem to suppress exhaustive reporting of Chinese authorities’ atrocities in Xinjiang. Chinese government social media accounts, Chinese-owned media, private accounts and robotic swarms, likely at the behest of Chinese authorities, to assist in this operation.”
In order to manipulate discourse about Xinjiang, pro-China actors participate in “astroturfing,” which is to post through fake accounts and coordinate cyber offensives to create a policy, individual, or opinion to gain widespread public support, the report said. , when in reality such support does not exist. The report also said that, similar to swiping the screen, the Chinese government used the navy to spread “positive stories” about Xinjiang and Uyghurs, including fabricated depictions of Uyghurs living “happy lives,” as well as emphasizing the so-called economic impact of the authorities’ policies on Xinjiang. Benefit posts flood the information space. For example, in mid-2021, more than 300 pro-China fake accounts posted thousands of videos about Uyghurs who appeared to deny violations in the region, claiming that Uyghurs were “extremely free,” the report noted. The videos purported to show widespread disapproval of Uighur oppression as reported by international media throughout Xinjiang. However, most of these videos, produced by propaganda officials in Xinjiang, were first posted on Chinese online platforms and then circulated on YouTube and Twitter to manipulate public opinion.
From at least January 2021, the pro-China network uses advanced artificial intelligence-generated content to create real-looking profile pictures for its fake accounts, the report said. Unlike stolen images of real people, synthetic images created by these tools cannot be traced through reverse image searches, making it more difficult to determine whether the account is fake. The report emphasizes that
“Some of these accounts consistently deny the atrocities committed by the Chinese authorities in Xinjiang, falsely claiming that the vast amount of objective and independent evidence of the atrocities is fabricated by the United States and its allies.”
The report also noted that labels such as “AmazingXinjiang” and “Xinjiang” were used to amplify positive stories about Xinjiang and counter independent reports accusing Chinese authorities of crimes against humanity and genocide.
In 2017, Xinjiang authorities began arbitrarily detaining other Turkic Uighurs in sprawling “re-education” camps and prisons, despite no evidence of their crimes. The Chinese government claimed the facilities were “vocational training centers” designed to prevent religious extremism and radicalism, and later said they were closed.
In addition, the Chinese authorities have outsourced and privatized some of their foreign language information operations to take advantage of the innovative capabilities of the private sector, the report said. The Chinese government works with at least 90 companies based in China to design information manipulation campaigns targeting foreign countries and to create a positive image of China. For example, a publishing agency run by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Radio, Film and Television Bureau and affiliated with the CCP’s United Front Work Department paid a marketing company to produce videos depicting Uyghurs supporting the Chinese government, which were then distributed to Twitter and YouTube by a group of fake accounts . Albert Zhang, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Cyber Policy Centre, said Chinese President Xi Jinping and his closest Communist Party leaders were largely responsible for the campaign to spread disinformation. He told Radio Free Asia,
“I think they were successful in actually spreading disinformation, but it also kept people from talking about what happened to Uyghurs and other Turkic ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Even in Western and English-speaking countries, although people may not believe official Chinese statements and State media propaganda and disinformation, but many people are too afraid to talk about it and will not criticize the Chinese government because they know they will be the target of government coercion.
Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, said the report played a key role in countering China’s global disinformation campaign aimed at denying the Uyghur genocide. Dolikun Aisha told RFA, using the name Uyghurs prefer to Xinjiang,
“This is a positive move to correct misunderstandings about the treatment of Uyghurs in East Turkestan by some countries and groups under the influence of Chinese propaganda. We ask the international community to reject Chinese authorities’ narratives about Uyghurs and take meaningful action to stop them The ongoing Uyghur genocide”.
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Chairman Turkle warns Taiwan
Additionally, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which monitors religious freedom around the world,President Nuri TurkelTaiwanese could face a similar fate to the persecuted Uighurs in China’s western Xinjiang region if Beijing invades the democratic island nation, it warned on Aug. 30. Speaking at the opening of the two-day Regional Religious Freedom Forum in Taipei, Taiwan, Nuri Turkel said,
“The Chinese authorities have made it clear that Taiwan is aware of the suffering of the Uyghurs. You have to know that if you fail to protect Taiwan, the people of Taiwan will face the same fate. Of course, there is no doubt that no situation better illustrates the Chinese regime’s intentions towards Taiwan and the world than the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity by the Chinese Communist Party. “
The event was organized by the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs,AIT Taipei OfficeCo-hosted with Taiwan Democracy Foundation. Attendees included Taiwanese government officials and members of foreign diplomatic missions in Taiwan.
Chinese authorities are believed to arbitrarily detain as many as 1.8 million Uighurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang’s vast network of “re-education” camps and prisons. The Chinese government claims the facilities are “vocational training centers” designed to prevent religious extremism and radicalism. The U.S. government and several Western parliaments have declared these actions to constitute genocide or crimes against humanity.
Washington Uyghur-American lawyer and human rights advocate Nouri.Turkel said at the meeting,“We have seen what the CCP has done to the Uyghurs, we know what the CCP regime has done to the people of Hong Kong, and what they are willing to do to their own people in Shanghai in the name of political goals. We can be sure that the Chinese leaders The same is being done for Taiwan. Taiwan has to study the genocide that the Uyghurs are facing, and you have to learn from these horrors and atrocities that are happening in broad daylight. You can’t stand by and hope for the best or hope you survive to the same fate.”
Nuri Turkel told Radio Free Asia that he urged the Taiwanese government to join like-minded liberal democracies in their efforts to enforce a ban on goods produced by Uighurs under China’s forced labor restrictions.
The 2022 Regional Religious Freedom Forum will focus on challenges to religious rights in the face of growing authoritarianism in the Indo-Pacific and the role NGOs and civil society can play in defending and expanding protections for worship.
Other speakers included Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen andSun Xiaoya, Director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)Sandra Oudkirk). Rashad Hussein, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, spoke in a pre-recorded video.
Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan aims to provide an inclusive model for the wider Indo-Pacific, given its work in protecting and promoting religious freedom on the island, adding that Taiwan has recently been recognized as having a strong incentive for Muslim travelers. Inclusive destination.
But Tsai Ing-wen also warned at the forum that oppressive regimes in the region are suppressing religious freedom, saying,
“Religious freedom is a universal human right. But in recent years, we have seen authoritarian regimes suppress this fundamental freedom on an ever-increasing scale. Taiwan understands what it means to be on the front lines of authoritarian aggression, and we are firmly committed to domestically to advance religious freedom abroad, including by supporting those unable to exercise this fundamental right.”
In an exclusive interview with Radio Free Asia’s Uighur Group, Nuri Turkle welcomed Tsai Ing-wen’s support for Uyghurs and other groups facing religious persecution and human rights violations, saying,
“Taiwanese officials express deep concern over the ongoing Uyghur genocide and express solidarity with Uyghurs who are subjected to collective punishment, mass internment, slavery, forced family separation and sexual violence.”
Nuri Turkel’s visit to Taipei comes nearly four weeks after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s two-day visit to the island as part of a tour of countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which makes her the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the democratic island in 25 years, has angered Beijing, which sees the island of 23 million people about 100 miles from mainland China as inherently Chinese a part of.
In response to the visit, Chinese authorities conducted a series of military exercises in the waters surrounding the island, which Chinese leaders believe the United States has violated the one-China policy.
Written, hosted, produced: Chen Aizhen