NEWS

Digital Parliamentarian Breakfast
On November 4th, German MPs and representatives for human rights and humanitarian aid, Margarete Bause (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) and Frank Schwabe (SPD), hosted a digital Parliamentarian Breakfast hearing entitled “Crime against humanity unfolding before the eyes of the world  – conversation with witnesses from the detention center in Xinjiang”. Uyghur Camp witnesses, Sayragul Sauytbay and Qelbinur Sidik talked about their experiences in the CCP’s internment camps, where 1.8 to 3 Million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Uzbeks and others are subjected to psychological and physical abuse. They also gave evidence on the psychological suffering of the hundreds of thousands of children whose parents are detained. Furthermore, they shared their personal stories about how the Chinese government seeks to decimate the Uyghur population through forced sterilization and birth control measurements.  

New Evidence on Chinese State Surveillance 
On October 30, China File published a new report on the Chinese government’s efforts to surveil and monitor its own citizens through various forms of repressive technologies. In their report, China File analyzed over 75,000 publicly available Chinese procurement documents related to surveillance technology and services from 2004 through the spring 2020. Importantly, the report also analyzed how the repressive surveillance system that is currently expanded throughout China has its precedent in East Turkistan, where China’s government has constructed a radically invasive system to monitor the Uyghur people. Although East Turkistan “may not be a harbinger of surveillance regimes elsewhere in China, simply because, thus far, the government has not deemed other regional populations deserving of such intense scrutiny, Xinjiang’s authorities apply many of the same technologies and conceptual frameworks as are in use throughout the country.” 

WUC Joins Protest in Göttingen
On October 30, the WUC joined a protest organized by Free the Uyghurs, Amnesty, VJSNord, Plan International, BIPOC Collective, Ilham Tohti Initiative and East Turkistan Union in Europe, in Göttingen, to raise awareness in the German society about the Uyghur genocide. In his speech, WUC representative Gheyyur Kurban stated that the situation has worsened since he left East Turkistan and highlighted the atrocities committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “It is high time that the German government and the international community realize that they must act now to prevent a historical tragedy”, Mr. Kurban said. The WUC has consistently urged the German government to take a tougher stance on China and take meaningful steps to end the Uyghur genocide. With protests such as the one in Göttingen, the WUC hopes to spread awareness across German society of the urgency of meaningful action.

Uyghurs Died After Being taken to Internment Camps
On November 2, Radio Free Asia reported that at least three camp detainees from a single Street in East Turkistan had died, and three were seriously ill. Before the people were taken to the internment camps by the Chinese authorities, they were healthy, and lived with their families at Jambizim street in Uchturpan. RFA also reported that another five of the 17 have been sentenced to prison terms. The fate of these detainees provides yet another case where healthy Uyghurs have died or become seriously ill as a result of suffering from the abuses of Chinese officials in the internment camps.

UK Parliament Held Inquiry on Forced Labour
On November 5, the Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Committee of the British Parliament held a Inquiry on Forced Labour. The committee summoned the companies TikTok, Nike, Zara, H&M and others, whose supply chains are suspected to have links to Uyghur forced labour, to give oral evidence about their business practices. “It’s a horrifying thought that British consumers could be unknowingly supporting businesses that profit from […] the forced labour of Uyghurs,” said Nusrat Ghani MP, who sits on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee. Members and endorsers of the 300+ coalition to End Forced Uyghur Labor, including Anti-Slavery International, CORE Coalition, Labour behind the Label, Rene Cassin, Trade Union Congress and World Uyghur Congress, submitted testimony in advance.

The WUC will continue to work together with the UK Parliament, its lawmakers, as well as businesses themselves, to ensure that (British) companies take the necessary steps to end their complicity in Uyghur forced labour.

PARTICIPATE

The Genocide of the Uyghurs, Virtual Event
On the 8th of November, the charity René Cassin, together with the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region, are organizing an online event to discuss the genocide against Uyghurs that is unfolding in East Turkistan. To find out more about what is happening in the Uyghur region and what you can do to stop these atrocities, you can register for the event by sending an email to [email protected].

Supporting the Uyghurs Webinar
On November 11, from 2.00pm-3.00pm, British MP Afzal Kahn, Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons and Vice Chair of the APPG on Uyghurs, is hosting a webinar on how the Uyghur cause could be supported. Special guests are WUC London representative, Rahima Mahmud, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Hong Kong Watch, Benedict Rogers, MP and Shadow Foreign Secretary, Lisa Nandy, MP and Shadow Foreign Minister for Asia & Pasific, Stephen Kinock, and Chief Executive Officer British Muslim Heritage Center, Maqsood Ahmad. Register here.

Support the Uyghur Tribunal
The Uyghur Tribunal, launched in September to investigate ongoing crimes committed by the CCP against the Uyghurs and other Turkic ethnic groups, has launched its crowdfunding campaign. The Uyghur Tribunal is one of the most valuable initiatives to address the Uyghur plight. Your contributions make a real difference; act now by donating here!