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:
Chinese birth-control policy could cut millions of Uyghur births, report finds
Chinese birth-control policies could reduce the ethnic minority population in southern Xinjiang by up to a third over the next 20 years, according to new analysis by a German researcher. The analysis concluded that regional policies could cut between 2.6 and 4.5 million minority births in that time. China denies the allegations, saying birth-rate declines have other causes.
China policies could cut millions of Uyghur births in Xinjiang
Chinese birth control policies could cut between 2.6 to 4.5 million births of the Uyghur and other ethnic minorities in southern Xinjiang within 20 years, up to a third of the region’s projected minority population, according to a new analysis by a German researcher.
The Uyghur Tribunal - Hearing Session 1
The Uyghur Tribunal was launched in September 2020 as an independent people’s tribunal to investigate ‘ongoing atrocities and possible Genocide’ against the Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Turkic Muslim Populations. The Uyghur Tribunal, which has no powers of sanction or enforcement, will confine itself to reviewing evidence in order to reach an impartial and considered judgment on whether international crimes are proved to have been committed by the PRC. There will be two sets of Hearings, at which witnesses will present live evidence. These will be open to the public and streamed live. Recorded livestreams of the first set of hearings from 4 to 7 June 2021 are available here.
In Broad Daylight: Uyghur Forced Labour and Global Solar Supply Chains
This investigation reveals how forced labour in the Uyghur region has ripple effects throughout international solar supply chains.
China uses Uyghur forced labour to make solar panels, says report
The global production of solar panels is using forced labour from China's Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province, an investigation has found. Xinjiang produces about 45% of the world's supply of the key component, polysilicon, the research by the UK's Sheffield Hallam University says.
Islam Dispossessed: China’s Persecution of Uyghur Imams and Religious Figures
Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan (also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China) have long endured repressive Chinese government policies targeting their cultural identity. Religious leaders in particular have been frequent subjects of state-directed abuse. This report presents new evidence detailing the extent to which Uyghur religious figures have been targeted over time.
Uyghur imams targeted in China's Xinjiang crackdown
China has imprisoned or detained at least 630 imams and other Muslim religious figures since 2014 in its crackdown in the Xinjiang region, according to new research by a Uyghur rights group. Many of the detained clerics faced broad charges like "propagating extremism", "gathering a crowd to disturb social order", and "inciting separatism". According to testimony from relatives, the real crimes behind these charges are often things like preaching, convening prayer groups, or simply acting as an imam.
Family De-planning: The Coercive Campaign to Drive Down Indigenous Birth-rates in Xinjiang
In this report, ASPI provides new evidence documenting the effectiveness of the Chinese government’s systematic efforts to reduce the size of the indigenous population of Xinjiang through a range of coercive birth-control policies.
Thousands of ‘Terrorism Suspects’ on ‘Shanghai List’ Include Uyghur Children, Elderly
A recently leaked Chinese government document provides new insight into how China characterizes extremist threats. More than three quarters of the names on the list of some 10,000 “suspected terrorists” are ethnic Uyghurs, while the document includes hundreds of minors and the elderly, providing rare insight into how Beijing characterizes threats it has used to lock up more than a million people.
The Chief Witness: Escape from China’s modern-day concentration camps
“I will never forget the camp. I cannot forget the eyes of the prisoners, expecting me to do something for them. They are innocent. I have to tell their story, to tell about the darkness they are in. It is so easy to suffocate us with the demons of powerlessness, shame, and guilt. But we aren't the ones who should feel ashamed.”
Why African countries back China on human rights
African countries are not among those calling out China for its treatment of the mostly Muslim Uyghur population in the north-western region of Xinjiang. In fact some African diplomats recently attended an event in Beijing and lauded China's policy in the region.
From Xinjiang to Mississippi: Terror Capitalism, Labour and Surveillance
This essay by ethnographic researcher Darren Byler explores the political and economic forces at work in the checkpoints, camps, and factories of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
UK MPs declare China is committing genocide against Uyghurs in Xinjiang
British MPs voted to declare that China is committing genocide against the Uyghur people in Xinjiang province. The motion passed on Thursday does not compel the government to act but is likely to mark a further decline in relations with China.
“Break Their Lineage, Break Their Roots” - China’s Crimes against Humanity
This report outlines the evidence for the conclusion that the Chinese government has committed crimes against humanity against the Turkic Muslim population.
Zara, Uniqlo, Pick Profit Over Human Rights, Fuel Uyghur Forced Labor
Uyghur forced labor remains one of today’s largest humanitarian crises, and the fashion industry is intricately tied to its horrors. The Xinjiang province provides around 85% of Chinese cotton. China, in turn, accounts for nearly 22% of the world’s cotton supply. It’s an undeniably huge global player — both in terms of supply and demand.
Olympic committee gave uniform contract to Chinese company with Xinjiang ties
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave a uniform contract for the Tokyo 2021 Summer Olympics and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics to a Chinese textiles company that has an affiliated factory in Xinjiang and that openly advertises its use of Xinjiang cotton.
Surviving the Crackdown in Xinjiang
As mass detentions and surveillance dominate the lives of China’s Uyghurs and Kazakhs, a woman struggles to free herself.
The cost of speaking up against China
Women who made allegations last month of rape and sexual abuse in Chinese detention camps have been harassed and smeared in the weeks since. Rights groups say the attacks are typical of an aggressive campaign by China to silence those who speak up.
Inditex accused of turning a blind eye amid rising tensions in China boycott crisis
Spanish apparel giant Inditex finds itself torn, like the rest of the international companies present in China, between the interests of Beijing and the interests of a number of Western powers in the Xinjiang cotton crisis.
Burberry becomes first luxury brand to suffer Chinese backlash over Xinjiang
Burberry has lost a Chinese brand ambassador and its hallmark tartan design was scrubbed from a popular video game, becoming the first luxury brand assailed by the Chinese backlash to Western accusations of abuses in Xinjiang.