All Reading
This section contains a curated list of useful articles, investigations, books and other reading materials. The list is updated on a weekly basis and suggestions for additions are welcome.
Starting Points:
US government, activists demand release of jailed 19-year-old Uyghur student
Kamile Wayit is serving jail time in Xinjiang for "advocating extremism", after she was detained for posting a video about protests relating to coronavirus restrictions in China.
Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2023: China and Tibet
This section of the annual report by Human Rights Watch reviewing human rights around the globe explores developments in China and Tibet over the course of 2022.
Renowned Uyghur poet dies following prison release in Xinjiang
A renowned Uyghur writer and poet in poor health when released from prison died on Dec. 18 because he could not obtain food or medical treatment amid a strict coronavirus lockdown, according to local information.
Event: The potential for solidarity in the Uyghur and Chinese diasporas
This event brings key thinkers and commentators from the Uyghur and Chinese diasporas to discuss the recent spate of protests across China and the potential for solidarity between these communities.
Uyghur man's agony after five relatives died in Urumqi fire
When a deadly fire broke out in China's northwest Xinjiang region, triggering a wave of public anger over the country's zero-Covid policy, it claimed the lives of five of one man’s relatives.
How China's Covid protests are being silenced
Following the deaths of ten people in a fire in Urumqi, an ever-growing list of words that reference the subsequent protests are being censored and attempts are being made to deflect the narrative on both various platforms.
The wave of protests testing China’s zero-Covid policy, explained
In cities across China, people are protesting Xi Jinping’s Covid policy — and even demanding his resignation.
Crowd angered by lockdowns calls for China’s Xi to step down
Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China’s powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations.
Protests over China’s COVID controls spread across country
Protests against China’s pervasive anti-virus controls that have confined millions of people to their homes spread to other cities after complaints they might have worsened the death toll in an apartment fire in Xinjiang.
Deadly fire in Xinjiang prompts protests across China over strict COVID lockdowns
Authorities are told to 'strictly crack down on illegal and criminal acts' opposing the zero-COVID policy, Radio Free Asia reports.
10 killed in apartment fire in northwest China’s Xinjiang
A fire in an apartment building in China’s Xinjiang region killed 10 people and injured nine, authorities said Friday, amid stringent COVID-19 lockdowns keeping residents in their homes.
China Xinjiang: Urumqi rocked by Covid lockdown protests after deadly fire
Videos shared on social media in China have appeared to show fresh protests against Covid restrictions, after an apartment block fire killed 10 people.
Protest in Xinjiang Against Lockdown After Fire Kills 10
A fire in a residential high-rise in Urumqi, where many residents have been under lockdown, set off public anger and questions about China’s zero-Covid policy.
China Xinjiang: Ten dead in Urumqi residential block fire
Ten people have died in a fire in flats in the city of Urumqi, capital of the western Xinjiang region. The city has been under strict Covid restrictions since early August.
‘Malicious' anti-lockdown comments on live stream prompt Xinjiang police probe
Chinese authorities in Xinjiang are investigating after internet users "maliciously flooded" a live-streamed government press conference with comments critical of COVID-19 restrictions.
Xinjiang party secretary visits areas where COVID lockdown protests occurred
Xinjiang’s Communist Party secretary on Monday visited districts in the capital Urumqi in northwestern China where rare protests against severe coronavirus lockdown measures occurred last week.
Authorities in Xinjiang collect bodies of Uyghurs who died during COVID lockdown
Chinese authorities in Xinjiang arranged for the collection of bodies of Uyghur residents who died during a strict coronavirus lockdown, but did not allow their families to bury them in accordance with Uyghur customs and religious rituals.
Lack of Uyghur-language emergency services leads to more deaths in Xinjiang
Uyghur residents in a city in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region are suffering malnutrition and death despite the lifting of a coronavirus lockdown because of authorities’ failure to provide Uyghur language support for emergency services, locals said.
22 die of starvation in one day under COVID lockdown in Xinjiang’s Ghulja
At least 22 people died of starvation or lack of medical attention on a single day last week under China’s COVID lockdown policies in the northern Xinjiang city of Ghulja, RFA has confirmed with police and bereaved family members.
"We are Dying": Desperate Messages from Uyghurs Facing Starvation and Death Under Zero COVID Lockdowns
Members of the Uyghur diaspora around the world are stunned and heartbroken as they view dozens of messages expressing mounting desperation amid COVID-19 lockdowns.