World Uyghur Congress, 21 February 2020

The Karakax List reveals the extent of China’s arbitrary detention of Uyghurs
On February 17, an international consortium of journalists published new leaked documents from the Karakay district of East Turkistan revealing the extent of China’s arbitrary detention and treatment of Uyghurs.

An official list of 311 detainees shows in detail why people have been detained in camps. Having too many children, growing beards, going on an Islamic pilgrimage or applying for a passport are some of the reasons the documents showed for why Chinese authorities have selected certain individuals for detentions. Furthermore, China targets especially people between 20 and 40 years old. 60% of the internees belong to this age group which has major implication for demographics and birth rate.

Contrary the claim of the Chinese government that the “re-education” camps are effective measurements in a fight against Islamist terrorism, the documents show no evidence that potential terrorists were targeted by Chinese authorities. Instead any expression of Islamic religious piety is perceived as a crime by the Chinese Communist Party.

The leak also provides information on how China uses high-tech surveillance and sheer manpower to collect precise information about identities, locations and habits of individual Uyghurs. The document also includes the full names, identification numbers and social behavior of more than 1800 family members, neighbors and friends of the 311 listed detainees.

As a reaction to the new leaked documents top German officials call for independent UN investigation. The German government’s commissioner for global religious freedom, Markus Grübel (CDU), said, “People are detained for their beliefs, children are separated from their parents, and the Chinese government monitors all areas of life. Under these circumstances, a humane life can no longer take place“. On February 13, before the leaks were published, German foreign Minister, Heiko Maas spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Berlin about the situation of Uyghurs and would now focus on transparency.

Aiman Mazyek, chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany responded to the new leaks „I am ashamed of our human race and that we — including Muslims worldwide — are too weak to stand up against these blatant human rights violations“.

Coronavirus Causes Food Shortage in East Turkistan
Although the dubious official figures from the Chinese Communist Party indicate that the number of new infected coronavirus cases has decreased, the situation is still alarming especially in East Turkistan. This week WUC received credible reports from East Turkistan that many households are suffering from hunger due to food shortage. Uyghurs are forced to remain indoors by the Chinese authorities to prevent the spread of coronavirus, but have not received food or other necessary supplies.

Chinese local officials stated that one member of a Uyghur family had contracted coronavirus, which would be the first confirmed case among Uyghurs. Althought not confirmed, it is speculated that the entire family of four has now been infected. On February 21, 76 coronavirus cases with one death were confirmed in East Turkistan, but these reports do not include if Uyghurs are among the infected cases.

The situation in East Turkistan regarding the corona virus remains highly intransparent. In a report earlier this month, RFA reported that according to the Crisis Management Command Center all virus-related information were treated as a state secret. There is also a lack of information about the spread of the coronavirus in the camps. This week the Chinese government rejected the request of the WHO to visit Wuhan or Hubei. The Chinese government continues to focus on censoring or hiding information about the coronavirus, putting many lives in danger.

This week it was also revealed that the virus is spreading rapidly in cruise ships and in Chinese prisons, where people are confined in close quarters. This is particularly concerning given that conditions and the state of confinement are similar to the internment camps.

The WUC has continued to raise the plight of Uyghurs detained in the internment camps who remain particularly vulnerable to the spread of the novel coronavirus. It will also continue advocating for independent investigations to monitor the coronavirus in East Turkistan and to take adequate actions. The WUC retirates its call for the Chinese government to close the camps and release all those in arbitrary detention before it is too late.

Estonian Foreign Intelligence Report
On February 18, The Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service has published an excellent chapter (Pages 70-78) detailing the efforts of the Chinese government around the world to reform the international system, undermine human rights and control and influence other governments. “China’s broader goal is to impose its worldview and standards, and through that build a Beijing-led international environment,” the report notes. Furthermore the report warns “China has recently begun to export its vision more vigorously, harnessing its foreign missions. Since spring 2018, many Western countries have witnessed unprecedented levels of activity by Chinese missions, and this trend continued in 2019.”

China’s Internal and External Fight Against Freedom of the Press
This week Chinese Communist Party took further alarming actions to fight freedom of the press internally and abroad. On February 18, the Chinese embassy in Nepal issued a statement which disparage and threatens the Kathmandu Post Editor in Chief in direct reaction for republishing a critical article from Ivo Daalder, a former US ambassador to NATO, about the coronavirus crisis.

Chinese authorities also decided to cancel the visas of three correspondents form the Wall Street Journal‘s Beijing bureau after the journal published an critical opinion article concerning China’s crackdown on human rights in East Turkistan. Although these three journalists had no involvement with this article, they were ordered to leave the country within three days. According to the Foreign Correspondents Club of China, China has not  expelled a foreign correspondent since 1998. Journalists in China are suffering from an increasing frequency of harassment, surveillance and intimidation from authorities.Many journalists who had been reporting from the ground in Wuhan or Hubei province have suddenly stopped posting from February 13th, including New York Times reporter Chris Buckely.

WUC To Attend Upcoming 43rd UN Human Rights Council Session
From 24 February to 20 March, the 43rd Human Rights Council session will be taking place in Geneva. Before the session started, a WUC delegation met with state missions to the UN and UN experts and officials to update them on the crisis in East Turkistan and pushed them to take concrete and urgent actions to address this human rights catastrophe. During the Human Rights Council session WUC program coordinator Zumretay Akin will make a statement raising the Human Rights catastrophe in East Turkistan focusing especially on the threat of the coronavirus on people in the camps.IIn order to raise public awareness, from February 24 to February 28 WUC will host a week-long photo exhibition called “Repressed, Detained and Disappeared: Uyghur Human Rights Crisis” at the Broken Chair square in Geneva. WUC would be happy if as many as possible could join us.

Amnesty International Releases Report on Harassment of Uyghur Diaspora
This week, international human rights NGO Amnesty international released a detailed report on the harassment and intimidation of the Uyghur diaspora around the world by the Chinese government. The report entitled “Nowhere Feels Safe” collected the testimonies of approximately 400 Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Uzbeks and members of other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups living in 22 countries across five continents over the course of a year between September 2018 and September 2019. Their accounts reveal the harassment and fear being experienced by these communities on a daily basis and catalogue the means and extent of the Chinese government’s attempts to control and silence the Uyghur diaspora.