Religion is a Disease to China and Their Cure is “Re-education” Camps – Research Essay
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) grants everyone the freedom to pursue and practice their religion as stated in Article 18; however, China does not see religion as a right given to human beings, but instead sees it as a disease to its communist rule. China forcefully puts its Muslim minorities into re-education camps in the Xinjiang region under many guises of rehabilitation. Specifically the Uyghurs (pronounced WEE-gurrs) muslim population has been a constant target of the Chinese Commuinst Party. Xinjiang is a region in China, located in the far west. Uyghurs are a Turkic-speaking muslims who practice a modern brand of Sunni Islam (a denomination of Islam). The Uyghur muslims are the majority in the Xinjiang region, making up about sixty percent. But they are ultimately the minority in the larger context of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of China, mostly ruled by the Han ethnic. Uyghur muslims have had histories of failed attempts at sovereignty from Chinese rule. Due to some terrorist activities by a few seperatist Uyghurs, China implemented many restrictions on their religious practices in order to reduce domestic terrorism. But that ultimately caused more tensions between the groups leading to more violence and conflict. It eventually came to a point where CCP started to mass arrest many Uyghurs and sent them to internment camps. In these camps many Human Rights are violated. However the CCP has denied these accusations of human rights violation despite the overwhelming amount of evidence, claiming it to be a vocational training to improve the economy. They have gone as far as to use their economic leverage to convince other nations to side with them.
Uyghurs are being detained at many facilities that are most commonly called re-education centers. They are not being held for any specific crimes they committed but for arbitrary political reasons. They are detained without charge, no access to the legal system, no contact to the outside world, and no knowledge of when they will be out. China, for years, has refused to acknowledge this.
Uyghurs are being detained at many facilities that are most commonly called re-education centers. They are not being held for any specific crimes they committed but for arbitrary political reasons. They are detained without charge, no access to the legal system, no contact to the outside world, and no knowledge of when they will be out. China, for years, has refused to acknowledge this.
Uyghurs are being detained at many facilities that are most commonly called re-education centers. They are not being held for any specific crimes they committed but for arbitrary political reasons. They are detained without charge, no access to the legal system, no contact to the outside world, and no knowledge of when they will be out. China, for years, has refused to acknowledge this.
Uyghurs are being detained at many facilities that are most commonly called re-education centers. They are not being held for any specific crimes they committed but for arbitrary political reasons. They are detained without charge, no access to the legal system, no contact to the outside world, and no knowledge of when they will be out. China, for years, has refused to acknowledge this.
Uyghurs are being detained at many facilities that are most commonly called re-education centers. They are not being held for any specific crimes they committed but for arbitrary political reasons. They are detained without charge, no access to the legal system, no contact to the outside world, and no knowledge of when they will be out. China, for years, has refused to acknowledge this.
In an interview with a former detainee, Omurbek Eli, talks about his personal experience in these re-education camps. Eli is a Kazakh citizen who has been traveling between Kazakhstan and Xinjiang for years without any trouble. In 2016 he was arrested and imprisoned without any documentation or evidence. He was suspected “of instigating terrorism, organizing terror activities, and covering up for terrorists”. In prison his “ankles were shackled together and one ankle was chained to the bed.” He was eventually forced to sign a document admitting his guilt to then be relocated to a re-education camp. From there on he experienced many of the abuses mentioned earlier. He now suffers from post-traumatic disorder and can no longer sleep properly. What this interview with Eli shows that China’s claim to these facilities being vocational training for minorities to bolster their economy is false.
Chris Buckley, a journalist at the New York Times, in this article, “China Is Detaining Muslims in Vast Numbers. The Goal: ‘Transformation.’” reports on how China views its Uyghur population in Xinjiang. Buckley reports that many Uyghur were detained on simple actions and behavior that are thought to be basic human rights but not for China. His purpose is to show such basic human rights violations in order to bring light of this current issue. He establishes an informative and a mix of empathetic tone for the readers about the situation that Uyghurs are currently in. In the article, he provides a quote from a document issued by party authorities in Hotan which states, “Anyone infected with an ideological ‘virus’ must be swiftly sent for the ‘residential care’ of transformation-through-education classes before illness arises.” This quote is in reference to the detainment of Uyghur muslims. China sees these people’s religious practices as “a disease, a virus”. China is persecuting its own people on the basis of practicing a religion which is a universal human rights. The experiences that Omurbek Eli shared in his interview proves this mindset of China’s authorities.
To conclude, the main takeaway here is that the Communnist Chinese Party and predominantly ethinc muslims has a long and complex history of tensions and conflict. In response China has muslim Uighurs and other ethnic minorties being forcefully held in detention camps. They are human beings just like everyone else but their human rights are being violated by China simply because of their religion. China has tried to keep this under the rug and gave many fallible reasons for the existence of “re-education camps”. However this did not prevent journalists and investigators from covering these violations and getting international headlines and response.
Bibliography
Buckley, Chris. “China Is Detaining Muslims in Vast Numbers. The Goal: ‘Transformation.’.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Sept. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/09/08/world/asia/china-uighur-muslim-detention-camp.html.
Hoja, Gulchehra. “Interview: ‘I Lost All Hope of Surviving’.” Edited by Joshua Joshua. Translated by Alim Seytoff, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Asia, 31 Jan. 2018, www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/kazakh-01302018161655.html.
Thum, Rian. “What Really Happens in China’s ‘Re-Education’ Camps.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 May 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/opinion/china-re-education-camps.html.
Zenz, Adrian. China’s Political Re-Education Campaign in Xinjiang. 6 Sept. 2018, www.academia.edu/37353916/NEW_Sept_2018_Thoroughly_Reforming_Them_Towards_a_Healthy_Heart_Attitude_Chinas_Political_Re_Education_Campaign_in_Xinjiang.
