By Griffin Asnis

In what is possibly the largest contemporary mass incarceration of a minority population in the world, over one million Muslims are reportedly detained in internment camps in China’s western region of Xinjiang, where the Muslim Uyghur population totals 12 million. Some speculate—including Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress—that as many as two million Muslims are currently imprisoned, based on information provided by released prisoners. Nevertheless, the relative silence of the international community regarding China’s cultural genocide is stunning.

Chinese government officials initially denied the processes of forced assimilation and acculturation, which had begun in earnest under the government of President Xi Jinping. Yet—in light of mounting pressure from the international community, government officials have acknowledged the existence of such camps, though they regard these institutions as centers for learning, offering educational and vocational training to Muslim ethnic minorities. Known euphemistically as re-education schools, these clandestine facilities are purported to counter Islamic extremism through the cultivation of vocational skills as well as training in the Chinese language. Falling well short of education, however, the camps’ inhumane methods of indoctrination signify a blatant, and systematic, attempt to ethnically cleanse the minority Uyghur population.

Accumulating evidence from individual accounts, satellite imagery, and leaked official documents provide limited insight into Xinjiang’s sprawling network of re-education camps. Satellite images have captured footage of ongoing, large-scale camp construction. Images of the camps from above depict large prison-like structures, looming watchtowers, and razor wire fences. Various accounts of physical and psychological torture—even death—from former detainees reveal a horrifying reality within the walls of the detention centers.

Prisoners are detained with neither the aid of an attorney nor a trial for months and, in some cases, years, as they are compelled to renounce their religious affiliations and assert steadfast allegiance to the Communist Party. Detainees are often subjected to continuous brainwashing with Communist propaganda and coerced into memorizing and reciting political songs. Because police forces effectively thwart access to the camps and closely surveil foreign journalists who travel to Xinjiang, independent accounts from detainees are increasingly rare.  

The Chinese government’s reach extends well beyond the perimeters of its internment camps, however. Within the Xinjiang province, Muslims are consistently exposed to ethnic profiling as well as encumbering travel restrictions. During Lunar Year celebrations, authorities in the region have reportedly forced Muslims to consume pork and alcohol. Several draconian laws forbid parents from selecting certain names like Mohammed for their babies, and even ban long beards and headscarves, too. In fact, these institutionalized forms of cultural persecution are reflective of a broader mission to cleanse Muslim minorities of their distinct culture—one which has transpired over many years. What’s more, a system of forced labor is emerging from these internment camps in western China, in which minorities are forced to accept jobs at newly constructed textile factories for free or at a low cost. In this case, it seems the Chinese state’s ostensible goal to re-educate its Muslim inhabitants is not as much an attempt to thwart Islamic terrorism as it is an endeavor to forcibly assimilate a significant minority population into a Chinese-speaking, industrial workforce.

The Chinese government must be held accountable for its egregious violations of human rights by the international community, and its unjust practices must be unequivocally condemned. To remain silent is to trivialize a moral travesty.