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 faces of China’s detention camps in Xinjiang
A new leak of Chinese government records reveals thousands of mug shots of Uyghurs, photos from inside the internment camps, and new details of the national mass detention program.
Xinjiang Police Files: Inside a Chinese internment camp
A giant cache of secret documents reveals the highly coercive and potentially lethal systems of control used against minority groups in China’s internment camps.
China claims sabotage as UN rights official visits Xinjiang
China on Tuesday said the U.S., Britain and other foreign powers are seeking to sabotage its foreign relations by orchestrating criticism surrounding a trip by the top United Nations official for human rights.
Xinjiang in focus as UN’s Michelle Bachelet visits China
The UN human rights chief has met China’s top diplomat as she began a six-day trip to the country that will include the remote Xinjiang region. The tour by Michelle Bachelet marks the first by the UN’s top rights official to China in nearly two decades and comes as Beijing stands accused of widespread abuses of Muslims in far-western Xinjiang.
Exiled Uyghurs Fear China’s Reach
Amannisa Abdulla is raising her two children, ages 9 and 4, without her husband. Her husband, who is also Uyghur, was deported to China four years ago. The last time she spoke, she learned he was in prison in Xinjiang.
China database reveals the thousands detained in Xinjiang
A leaked list of thousands of detained Uyghurs has helped Nursimangul Abdureshid shed some light on the whereabouts of her missing family members, who have disappeared in China's sweeping crackdown on Xinjiang. The previously unreported database, which has been seen by AFP, lists over 10,000 imprisoned Uyghurs from southwestern Xinjiang's Konasheher county -- including over 100 from Abdureshid's village.
US, Chinese diplomats square off on Twitter over human rights, jailed Uyghur
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield sparked a social media spat with her Chinese counterpart on Wednesday after she called on the head of the U.N. Human Rights Council to release an overdue report on rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region.
China says U.N. rights boss welcome to visit Xinjiang in near future
Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, said on Monday that the U.N. rights chief would be welcome to visit the Xinjiang region in the near future. "We welcome people from all over the world who harbour no bias to come to Xinjiang for exchanges," he said at a speech to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
China warns Ireland to ‘stop interfering’ as leader of persecuted Uyghurs attends meeting with Irish officials in Dublin
Ireland has been urged to “respect China’s sovereignty” and to “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs” after an Uyghur leader attended a meeting in the Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday. In response, the Chinese Embassy in Dublin said they “strongly condemn the anti-China separatist activities of the so-called ‘World Uyghur Congress’ in Ireland, and firmly oppose Irish government officials’ meeting with Dolkun Isa”.
Winter Olympics: Games official claims stories of human rights abuses are 'lies’
The Winter Olympics is facing renewed political controversy after a Games official dismissed claims of human rights violations against the Uyghur Muslim population as "lies".
Elon Musk: Tesla criticised after opening Xinjiang showroom
Electric car maker Tesla has been criticised in the US after opening a showroom in China's controversial Xinjiang region. The company, headed by billionaire Elon Musk, opened the showroom in the city of Urumqi on New Year's Eve.
Intel apologises in China over Xinjiang supplier statement
U.S. chip maker Intel apologised in China on Thursday after its letter telling suppliers not to source products or labour from the Xinjiang region triggered a backlash, making it the latest western firm to be tripped up over rights issues in the country.
Intel apologises to China over supplier advice
US microchip maker Intel has apologised following a backlash over its letter urging suppliers not to source products or labour from China's Xinjiang region. The company's letter sparked criticism in China, with calls for a boycott.
US Congress passes import ban on Chinese Uyghur region
The US Congress has passed a bill that requires companies to prove that goods imported from China's Xinjiang region were not produced with forced labour. The US has accused China of genocide in its repression of the predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority there - a charge that China has repeatedly rejected. The bill had been criticised by major companies that do business in the area, including Coca-Cola, Nike and Apple.
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.
Some are just psychopaths': Chinese detective in exile reveals extent of torture against Uyghurs
"We took (them) all forcibly overnight," he said. "If there were hundreds of people in one county in this area, then you had to arrest these hundreds of people." The ex-detective turned whistle-blower asked to be identified only as Jiang, to protect his family members who remain in China. In a three-hour interview conducted in Europe where he is now in exile, Jiang revealed rare details on what he described as a systematic campaign of torture against ethnic Uyghurs in the region's detention camp system, claims China has denied for years.
China's ambassador Zheng Zeguang banned from UK Parliament
China's ambassador to the UK has been told he cannot come to Parliament while sanctions remain in place against a number of MPs and peers. The Chinese embassy said it was a "despicable and cowardly" decision that would harm both countries' interests.
As global pressure over human rights abuses in Xinjiang picks up, China remains defiant
Diplomatic measures, sanctions, targeting forced labor, calls for investigations and a 2022 Olympics boycott, and other efforts to stop Beijing’s campaign against Uyghurs appear to have little effect. Week after week, lawmakers around the world have continued to put pressure on China over alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs in an escalating diplomatic conflict, which one expert says has become something of a stalemate.
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.