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 government deploying online influencers amid Beijing Olympics boycotts
The Chinese government hired a firm to recruit social media influencers as part of a new digital operation amid controversies surrounding diplomatic boycotts of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, OpenSecrets’ review of Foreign Agents Registration Act Records found. The influence operation is being coordinated by Vippi Media, a consulting firm based in New Jersey, as part of a $300,000 contract that spans through March 2022. China’s Consulate General in New York paid $210,000 in advance on Nov. 23.
U.N. says to publish findings soon on abuses in Xinjiang
The United Nations' human rights office is finalising its assessment of the situation in China's Xinjiang region, a spokesperson said on Friday. They said the office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet hoped to publish its report in the coming weeks and that there had been "no concrete progress" in long-running talks with Chinese officials on a proposed visit.
The Xinjiang Papers: An Analysis of Key Findings and Implications for the Uyghur Tribunal in London
This report, submitted to the Uyghur Tribunal, contains a detailed analysis of the Xinjiang Papers and what this evidence indicates about the central government’s role in Xinjiang policies, as well as the author’s resulting conclusions on the question of genocide.
China committed genocide against Uyghurs, independent tribunal rules
China has committed genocide against the Uyghur people in Xinjiang, an unofficial UK-based tribunal has found. The Uyghur Tribunal cited birth control and sterilisation measures allegedly carried out by the state against the Uyghurs as the primary reason for reaching its conclusion.
The Uyghur Tribunal Delivers Its Judgment
The Uyghur Tribunal, having reviewed evidenced since September 2020, reaches a judgment on whether international crimes are proved to have been committed by the PRC.
Canada, U.K. and Australia join U.S. in diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics
Canada will join the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights concerns, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.
IOC says it ‘respects’ US boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that it respects the United States’ decision to diplomatically boycott the forthcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, while defending its “quiet diplomacy” in handling the case of Chinese tennis player, Peng Shuai. “We always ask for as much respect as possible and least possible interference from the political world,” said Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, the IOC’s coordination commission chief for the Beijing Winter Olympics. “We have to be reciprocal. We respect the political decisions taken by political bodies.”
US diplomats to boycott 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
The US has announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China - a move that has been heavily criticised by Beijing. The White House said no official delegation would be sent to the Games because of concerns about China's human rights record. But it said US athletes could attend and would have the government's full support.
2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: China criticises US diplomatic boycott
China has condemned a planned US diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and threatened to retaliate. Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China would take "resolute counter-measures" but did not give further details.
Borrowing mouths to speak on Xinjiang
This report explores how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses foreign social media influencers to shape and push messages domestically and internationally about Xinjiang that are aligned with its own preferred narratives.
White House announces US diplomatic boycott of 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing
The Biden administration will not send an official US delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing as a statement against China's "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang."
Leaked papers link top Chinese leaders to Uyghur crackdown
A newly published cache of documents directly links top Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping to the state's crackdown on Uyghur Muslims. China has consistently denied that it is committing genocide against Uyghurs. Some of the documents were the subject of an earlier report, but the latest leak has previously unseen information.
The Xinjiang Papers: An Introduction
This report, submitted to the Uyghur Tribunal, contains a detailed overview of the Xinjiang Papers, a cache of leaked - and mostly classified - government documents from the PRC.
Uyghur Genocide - House of Lords Debate
The House of Lords debated reported remarks by the British Foreign Secretary that a genocide is underway against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, China, on Thursday 25 November.
Genocidal processes: social death in Xinjiang
This paper builds on critical genocide studies literature to historically contextualize China’s “fusion” policy used to justify its policies of extralegal internment camps and inter-generational separation in Xinjiang.
Laundering Cotton: How Xinjiang Cotton is Obscured in International Supply Chains
This report explores how, at the same time as Xinjiang cotton has come to be associated with human rights abuses, forced-labor-linked cotton goods from the Uyghur Region wend their way into international supply chains.
UK Government refuses to declare atrocities in Xinjiang a genocide
Today, the Foreign Affairs Committee publishes the Government Response to its report “Never Again: The UK’s Responsibility to Act on Atrocities in Xinjiang and Beyond”. The Government states that it will not “make determinations in relation to genocide” in response to the Committee’s recommendation to “accept Parliament’s view that Uyghurs and other ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang are suffering genocide and crimes against humanity”.
‘Surveillance’ doesn’t begin to describe what Beijing is doing to Uyghurs
Researcher and writer Vicky Xiuzhong Xu talks about the way the Chinese state has penetrated every aspect of life in Xinjiang — and targeted her, thousands of miles away, in Australia.
How China’s past shapes Xi's thinking - and his view of the world
Heightened tensions with Taiwan have focused attention on China, with many wondering where President Xi Jinping sees his country on the world stage. Perhaps the past can provide some clues, writes Rana Mitter, a history professor at Oxford University.
The architecture of repression: Unpacking Xinjiang’s governance
This report is a part of a larger online project which can be found on the Xinjiang Data Project website. The project maps and analyses the governance mechanisms employed by the Chinese party-state in Xinjiang from 2014 to 2021 within the context of the region’s ongoing human rights crisis. The authors have located and scrutinised thousands of Chinese-language sources, including leaked police records and government budget documents never before published. For policymakers, this report will provide an evidence base to inform policy responses including possible sanctions. For the general public and anyone whose interests are linked to Xinjiang and China more broadly, this project can inform risk analysis and ethical considerations.