China legalises internment camps to ‘re-educate’ detained Muslims
CHINA has legalised internment camps believed to be holding hundreds of thousands of Uighur Muslims, in its first official recognition of the centres.
A new law allows for “vocational skill education training centres” to “carry out anti-extremist ideological education” and implement “psychological and behavioural correction to promote thought transformation of trainees, and help them return to society and family”. All those being “educated and converted” should also learn the national language of Mandarin Chinese, according to the law.
Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, has launched a widespread campaign to stamp out dissent, reassert the ruling Communist party and promote patriotism.
In Xinjiang, the western province that is home to Uighurs – a Turkicspeaking and primarily Muslim minority – that has meant many restrictions on daily life and reports of hundreds of thousands of people being forced into the internment camps. Human rights groups have long alleged that Uighurs have been mistreated and abused in Xinjiang, while the United Nations estimated that China had detained as many as a million Uighurs.
In 2017, China banned all activity deemed “extremist”, including wearing a headscarf, having “abnormal” beards, refusing to follow state media, or preventing children from receiving state education.
Residents of the province were also reportedly monitored via facial recognition, mobile phone scans, DNA collection and security cameras.
Yesterday, a powerful US congressional
‘Vocational skill education training centres [are allowed to] carry out anti-extremist ideological education’
body called on Donald Trump’s administration to make human rights a priority when reshaping Washington’s relationship with Beijing. “Any effort to rethink US government approaches to the current Chinese government should recognise that pressing for adherence to universal standards and insistence on greater reciprocity advance American economic and security interest,” said a report prepared by the US Congressional-executive commission on China.
The commission’s leaders also called for the release of the detainees, the introduction of US legislation to condemn China for its actions, and for the FBI to investigate.
While Mike Pence, the US vice-president, stated in a speech last week that the US was aware of human rights abuses in China, neither the White House nor the Trump administration has challenged Beijing’s leadership upon the issue.
Chinese officials have previously described the UN’S allegations as “unsubstantiated and irresponsible information”, saying they were simply “not true”.