Press Release – For immediate Release
22 November 2023
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
+49 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

The World Uyghur Congress commemorates the victims of the tragic Urumchi fire on November 24, 2022. One year ago, a devastating fire erupted in an apartment building in Urumchi, claiming the lives of dozens of people, according to government sources. However, the Uyghur community estimates that the number of victims is higher. Reports indicate that the fire started on the 15th floor of an apartment building predominantly inhabited by Uyghurs in the Tengritagh neighbourhood,  and quickly spread to the upper levels. 

According to local residents, firefighters arrived three hours after the fire began to extinguish the flames, despite their close proximity to the building and residents were prevented from evacuating the building due to the strict lockdown measures imposed by the Chinese government. Local authorities barricaded and bolted doors of the building in an attempt to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus, inadvertently obstructing residents’ access to essential resources, including food and medical care. 

‘’The complete disregard for Uyghur lives, which we have seen during the Urumchi fire, is characteristic of the Chinese regime’s repressive measures against Uyghurs’’, said World Uyghur Congress President, Dolkun Isa. 

The fire led to the globally known ‘White Paper’ protests, initiated in response to videos filmed by residents and circulated on Chinese social media, exposing the failure of the authorities to respond to the fire effectively. Residents took to the streets of major cities in China to protest the strict COVID-19 lockdown measures, holding blank papers to symbolise censorship by the government. The protests quickly spread to the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, and other cities across China. However, the Chinese authorities quickly cracked down on people protesting, detaining and disappearing many, including Kamile Wayit, a 19-year-old Uyghur student, who shared a video of the protests on WeChat. Kamile remains detained, and was sentenced for “promoting extremism”.

The White Paper protests turned into a global movement, where Chinese students across the world took to the streets to commemorate the victims of the Urumchi fire and to stand in solidarity with the protesters in China.

The World Uyghur Congress calls for the immediate release of Kamile and others detained and disappeared by the Chinese government for publicly protesting the government’s harsh lockdown measures. The international community must act and hold the Chinese government accountable for its complete disregard for Uyghur lives and release the protesters of the White Paper protests. WUC also calls for an independent investigation by international bodies and for the Chinese authorities to release the exact number of victims.