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:
The foreigners in China’s disinformation drive
Foreign video bloggers denouncing what they say is negative coverage of China on highly controversial subjects such as Xinjiang are attracting large numbers of subscribers on platforms like YouTube. In recent years, the "vloggers" have been increasingly presenting themselves as China-lovers, spreading Communist Party disinformation.
Never Again: The UK’s Responsibility to Act on Atrocities in Xinjiang and Beyond
This report contains a comprehensive account of the measures available to the UK government and international partners to stop the atrocities the Chinese government is committing in Xinjiang. It covers the multilateral action available to the UK, through the UN and other means, measures needed to remove Uyghur forced labour from UK supply chains, as well as the changes needed to the UK’s atrocity prevention strategy to improve the response to future mass atrocities.
MPs urge government to ban imports from Xinjiang over treatment of Uyghurs
The British government has been urged by MPs to ban imports from Xinjiang, partially boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics, and discourage companies from sponsoring the Games in response to China’s repression of Uyghur Muslims. The Commons Foreign Affairs Committee also recommended that Chinese surveillance company Hikvision should be banned from this country. The company has been accused of providing equipment to prison camps where thousands of Uyghur Muslims are being held in arbitrary detention and subjected to severe human rights abuses.
‘Ethnic extinction’ in northwest China
State policies in education are forcing Uyghur children to grow up in non-Muslim, Mandarin-speaking environments. Uyghur culture is being lost as a result.
H&M: Fashion giant sees China sales slump after Xinjiang boycott
Swedish fashion giant H&M saw its sales slump in China, months after it became the target of a Chinese boycott. H&M was among several brands that raised concerns over alleged human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims in China's Xinjiang province. Its statement led celebrities to cut ties with the brand and e-commerce platforms to drop H&M.
France investigates retailers over China forced labour claims
Retailers have hit back after authorities in France opened a "crimes against humanity" probe into their activities in China's Xinjiang region. French prosecutors are looking into accusations four fashion brands sourced goods made by forced labour from Uyghur Muslims in China. Uniqlo, Zara-owner Inditex and French textile firm SMCP deny the claims, while Skechers declined to comment.
Nike boss defends firm’s business in China
The boss of Nike has made a robust defence of the firm's business in China after facing a consumer boycott there. Chief executive John Donahoe said "Nike is a brand that is of China and for China" in response to a question about competition from Chinese brands. The comments come after the sportswear giant was recently hit by a backlash over statements about Xinjiang.
No Space Left to Run: China’s Transnational Repression of Uyghurs
This report is the product of an effort to understand the means by which China targets Uyghurs beyond its borders to silence dissent, gathering cases of China’s transnational repression of Uyghurs from public sources, including government documents, human rights reports, and reporting by credible news agencies to establish a detailed analysis of how the scale and scope of China’s global repression are expanding.
US Targets China Polysilicon Makers Over Uyghur Forced Labor in Xinjiang
The United States took new measures on Thursday to address China’s use of Uyghurs as forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), halting imports from a major Chinese producer of polysilicon for the solar panel industry and blacklisting other firms operating in the region. The targeting of polysilicon makers followers similar moves since last year against hair products, electronics, tomatoes, and cotton made in Xinjiang with suspected forced labor.
Uyghur Businessman Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison For Ties to Turkey
The Uyghur founder of a grocery store chain with more than 500 food stores and 200 product lines throughout China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) was sentenced in May to more than 17 years in prison for his alleged “suspicious” relations with Turkey, following a three-year investigation, sources outside and inside the region told RFA.
Government ‘dragging feet’ on China forced labour
The government is "dragging its feet" in taking action against UK companies linked to the use of forced labour in China's Xinjiang region, MPs have said. In March the Business department (Beis) vowed to sanction firms that could not prove they had no ties with Xinjiang. But it has refused to commit to "clear timeframes and substantive actions", the Beis Select Committee said.
New Report Details Firsthand Accounts Of Torture From Uyghur Muslims In China
A new report from Amnesty International details systematic state-organized mass imprisonment, torture and persecution against people in Xinjiang province, as well as extensive cover-up efforts by the Chinese government.
China: Draconian repression of Muslims in Xinjiang amounts to crimes against humanity
Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region face systematic state-organized mass imprisonment, torture and persecution amounting to crimes against humanity, Amnesty International said as it launched a new report and campaign today.
Government rejects proposals to prevent UK companies using Uyghur slave laboura
The government has rejected MPs proposals to prevent companies sourcing goods made by Uyghur slave labour in China. Responding to plans put forward by the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, the government said that the evidence points to to “a highly disturbing programme of repression in Xinjiang and the world cannot simply look the other way”. However, ministers refused to commit to actions to strengthen the UK’s rules on modern slavery or to ensure that its own procurement process is not tainted by forced labour.
“Like We Were Enemies In a War” - China’s Mass Persecution of Muslims in Xinjiang
This report, based on first-hand testimonies and satellite imagery data analysis, gives an extensive account of life inside the internment camps.
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.