Xinjiang Report: China (in 5 world languages) seeks to justify abuse of Uyghurs

(Patria) – The Chinese Communist Party continues to try to justify the "vocational training centers" for Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province, which the US and EU publicly call "concentration camps".

In a document released on Thursday, official Beijing once again referred to the camps as "vocational training centers": "Through proactive labor and employment policies, Xinjiang continues to improve the material and cultural aspects of people's lives, guaranteeing and developing their human rights in every field.".

The figures presented in this report indicate the scale of the program: around 1.29 million workers, including 415,400 from southern Xinjiang, underwent "vocational training" annually between 2014 and 2019, although it remains unclear how many times the same individuals went through the camps.

Academic Adrian Zenz, who researches events in Xinjiang, claims the figures provide a rough picture of "forced labor through centralized, military training of the rural workforce.".

China constantly faces international accusations, supported by growing evidence, of mass internment of minorities in the Xinjiang region, as well as surveillance, violation of religious and cultural rights, and forced sterilization of women. Experts have called China's treatment of Uyghurs "cultural genocide".

Beijing continues to reject the accusations, justifying its treatment of Uyghurs and other minorities as terrorism prevention, while still denying journalists and human rights activists access to the secret camps.

The international community, led by the US, is pressuring China to close the camps, threatening sanctions and import bans from Xinjiang, while major clothing manufacturers like H&M have already severed business ties with Chinese regional producers.

The British Guardian cited findings earlier this year that tens of thousands of people have been transferred from Xinjiang, most directly from the camps, to factories across China where conditions "clearly indicate forced labor".

Zumretay Arkin from the World Uyghur Congress told the Guardian that the ruling Communist Party's document on Xinjiang, translated into five world languages for propaganda purposes, is "another attempt by this party to spread lies and evade responsibility for wrongdoing, just as they lied about the existence of internment camps".

He adds that poverty and unemployment prevalent in the region are also fueled by discrimination in employment. "While Chinese migrants get high-profile jobs in large companies, Uyghurs are forced into manual labor for very little or no pay," claims Arkin.

An alliance of human rights groups warned in July that one in five cotton products sold globally originates from a program in Xinjiang involving forced labor.