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| Manifestantes pró-uigures realizam manifestação em frente à Embaixada da China em Londres, em 1º de julho de 2021 |
A year after the exposure of human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghur minority in the country’s northwest, Beijing is trying to present a different image of life in the Xinjiang region to the world.
One year after the United Nations reported "serious human rights violations" against Uyghurs in China, little progress has been made in investigations, according to analysts. Meanwhile, Beijing continues to reshape the narrative surrounding its policies in Xinjiang, an autonomous region in the northwest of the country.
In 2022, a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) concluded that the discriminatory detention of Uyghurs in Xinjiang by the Chinese government could constitute "a crime against humanity."
Beijing promptly reacted to the accusation, labeling it "disinformation and lies fabricated by anti-China forces." An attempt to create a formal UN agenda to discuss the issue also failed when China and its allies opposed the move.
A rare visit by President Xi Jinping to Xinjiang in August once again raised concerns among activist groups and human rights organizations, which argue that the Chinese government is preparing to "reassert its political direction" with a more positive narrative about Xinjiang.
Beijing Tightens Control Over Xinjiang
Xi visited the region immediately after returning from the BRICS summit in South Africa without even stopping in the capital, Beijing. "You can see how much the Uyghur population occupied his mind," comments Aziz Isa Elkun, an exiled Uyghur poet and research associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.
This was Xi's second visit to the region since the mass repression launched by the Chinese government a decade ago. The first visit was in July 2022, a month before the OHCHR report was released.
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According to Elkun, China's recent focus on Xinjiang is due to the region's crucial role in "major conflicts with the West over the rule of law, democracy, and human rights."
Since Xi took power in 2013, Xinjiang has become a heavily militarized zone, with an increasing number of high-tech security tools and widespread digital surveillance. Currently, more than one million Uyghurs are believed to be detained in so-called "re-education camps."
While China justifies these camps as "education and vocational training centers" aimed at combating extremism and terrorism, critics argue that such places represent an attempt at genocide to erase Uyghur identity.
"Uyghur Muslims are sent to detention centers for 'wearing a veil,' growing a 'long beard,' or violating the government's family planning policy," says Ayjaz Wani, a researcher at the Strategic Studies Program of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
Beijing Invests in Tourism in the Region
Amid the growing global attention on Xinjiang, China has used tourism to portray the region as a "success story." During a visit to the area in August, Xi said that Xinjiang "was no longer a remote area" and that it should open up more to both national and international tourism.
"Beijing's strategy is to manipulate perception through guided tours in Xinjiang," explains Wani, adding that such a move aims to create an impression of "normalcy" in the region.
According to the AFP news agency, Xinjiang's tourism department plans to spend more than 700 million yuan (about 476 million reais) in 2023 on building luxury hotels and camping areas in the region.
Recently, the Uyghur Human Rights Project called on Western travel companies to stop offering packages that include Xinjiang. However, Wani predicts "an increase in guided tours, especially from Islamic and European countries. Diplomats participating in such visits will praise Beijing's efforts to combat terrorism, even if that may not be the case."
Is China Dodging Responsibility?
Since the UN report was released a year ago, human rights groups have called for more action from world leaders. "We hope that other governments and the UN will now take follow-up action," emphasizes Maya Wang, deputy director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch (HRW).
With the world's attention focused on Russia's war in Ukraine, Wang points out that it is difficult for activists to maintain pressure on the Chinese government regarding the oppression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Limited access to the region has also increased the challenges. "The Chinese government is an expert at controlling information," and neither HRW nor the UN has been allowed free access to the region to conduct fact-finding work.
Wang adds that, given the lack of collective pressure from other governments, China likely believes it "can get away with serious international crimes without any consequences."
Although the use of such camps has decreased in recent years, none of the underlying policies of widespread repression have been reversed or suspended. "For Uyghurs living there, life has always been under the weight of repression."
Members of the Uyghur diaspora also face the risk of harassment or threats from the Chinese government when they speak out.
In 2017, for example, Beijing severed poet Elkun's ties with his relatives in Xinjiang in an apparent attempt to silence him. "I feel very bitter every time I think about them," says the exiled Uyghur scholar, who remains without news of his family. However, he is aware that other Uyghurs suffer even worse fates. "We will bring justice to the victims. The world will never forget," he promises.
DW, Yuchen Li (from Taipei)
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