The issue of the Uighurs and their alleged genocide at the hands of the Beijing Government is at the core of every negative assessment of China. For many critics of China it is the #1 item of condemnation. The Charge has to stick. China has to be found guilty. But Why?
The anti-China narrative goes like this; China maybe an increasingly successful country which has brought significant progress to the living standards of its people but it remains a country caught in the vice-like grip of a dictatorial anti-democratic Communist Party which rules the country with a Big Stick.
The people of China – the narrative continues – submit themselves reluctantly to the all-encompassing power of the Party because any opposition or dissent results in prison or execution. China is a dictatorship; the people are oppressed and the West should de-couple and de-risk from China in an effort to stymie further economic progress. This will bring about the overthrow of the Party and its replacement by a Western-inclined democratic one man-one vote system of government.
The Chinese experiment must be discredited and defeated lest it become a model of development for the Global South and other nations seeking to build a better future for their people. “Don’t Follow China – They are Racists – Look at What They Have Done to the Uighurs”.
These critics of China, led initially by the former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, are keen to make their allegations lodge in the public consciousness. There is a degree of desperation in their words. It can be viewed as a last throw of the dice by opponents of China who can see their grip on world power slipping from their grasp. The Uighur issue is that important. It is the argument of last resort. “Yes, China has made progress but only by killing its own people. China is genocidal and what they have done to their own people they will do to other peoples who stand in their way. China must be stopped.” This is the anti-China position.
At a stroke, all the claims that the Communist Party of China government has turned its country round – from the Sick Man of Asia in 1949 to the World’s #1 Economy – count for nothing because, it is claimed, China has persecuted the Uighurs. China has gone to war to eliminate the Uighurs, their culture, their language, their traditions, their temples and their mosques.
The argument moves on – if the charge sticks and the allegations are proved true, then China cannot present itself to the world as a supporter of the oppressed, the under-privileged, and the persecuted. If the claims against China are justified then China is no different from other oppressors down the centuries. So as China continues to grow and develop – its Belt and Road Initiative has loaned funds in excess of one trillion US dollars to finance infrastructure development to more than 120 countries – its critics become more aggressive.
Some points for consideration;-
On a personal level I have visited China widely and extensively since my first visit in 1965 – the year before the Cultural Revolution commenced. I have travelled to many cities and spent time in the countryside. I have attended Trade Fairs, Exhibitions, Business Meetings, Sporting Events and many social and cultural gatherings. I have also mixed and mingled with many like-minded businessmen, academics, diplomats and lawyers. Throughout this time I never heard anything negative said about the Uighurs. No Chinese negotiator or Party representative ever let slip a critical comment about the Uighurs or lapsed into racist language. It has just never happened. And its absence has significance.
China’s critics often likened China’s alleged activities in Xinjiang against the Uighurs to the Nazis’ persecution of the Jews. Anybody visiting Germany in the 1930’s would have been assailed by the clear evidence of anti-semitism. Shop windows were daubed with swastikas; speeches by Nazi leaders blared our from microphones on street corners and visitors could see for themselves on the streets of all the main cities the marching Stormtroopers spreading fear in the minds of all Jews. Prior to Pompeo’s 2017 charges against China re the Uighurs, no such reports of alleged persecution of the Uighurs has have ever appeared in the comments of UK diplomatic staff, UK businessmen or women, or UK visitors of any description.
The point? Critics of China have been quick to make comparisons between China and the Uighurs on the one hand and Germany and the Jews on the other. Many UK Jewish leaders, in particular, rushed to express solidarity with the Uighurs because, they asserted incorrectly, the Chinese were doing to the Uighurs what the Nazis did to the Jews.
A further point of evidence – in the many metres of media print emanating from China no one has highlighted articles exhibiting a racist anti-Uighur attitude. There have been no plays, films, books which show the existence of any animosity to the Uighur people. Again, compare the situation with Nazi Germany where Jews were vilified in all forms of culture – be it film, theatre or books.
So what did happen in Xinjiang? Let’s be clear – there was violence; there were deaths. There were also executions and prison sentences. But this had nothing to do with racism or genocide. Quite simply, some Uighurs wanted to secede from China. They wanted to create a new State separate and apart from China. It was to be an Islamic Fundamentalist State. They took up arms. They resorted to bombs in public places and even attacked Chinese nationals on the streets of Beijing.
The Chinese government responded. It confronted the secessionists called ETIM – The East Turkistan Independence Movement. It was an attempted insurrection and Beijing dealt with the challenge head on. The ring leaders were executed and the followers were detained for re-education. This is often scoffed at in the UK on the assumption that the Re-Education Camps in Xinjiang were the same as the Concentration Camps at Auschwitz, Dachau and Belsen. China’s critics knew that reference to “concentration camps” was toxic and used it intentionally to whip up a frenzy against China.
In addition to the Re-Education camps, China invested in infrastructure, education, and job creation. Vocational training centres were established to equip Uighurs with skills for stable employment, providing a viable and attractive alternative to the secessionist appeal of extremism.
Xinjiang’s Uighur population grew from 8.34 million in 2000 to 11.62 million in 2020—a growth rate far exceeding the national average for ethnic minorities. Claims of forced sterilisation and population control crumble in the face of such data. Even during the era of China’s one-child policy, Uighurs and other minorities were exempt, further undermining allegations of systemic oppression.
Education metrics in Xinjiang also paint a starkly different picture from Western propaganda. The percentage of Uighurs with university education skyrocketed, and the average years of schooling for those over fifteen years of age rose significantly. These figures testify to China’s commitment to uplifting its minority populations, not eradicating them.
The narrative of “concentration camps” in Xinjiang finds its roots in the propaganda of Adrian Zenz, a far-right Christian fundamentalist. Zenz, who openly admits his mission is divinely inspired to destroy the Chinese Communist Party, has visited Xinjiang only once, in 2007. His claims rely on dubious sources and are amplified by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank funded by Western defence contractors and governments.
Zenz’s allegations include claims such as the demolition of 16,000 mosques in Xinjiang and a ban on the practice of Islam. The reality is quite different. Xinjiang remains home to thousands of mosques, as observed by the millions of domestic and international tourists visiting them annually. In 2019, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation even commended China for its care of Muslim citizens, further discrediting Zenz’s claims.
From the genocidal ethnic cleansing of Native Americans to the vast transatlantic slave trade, America’s own track record struggles to stand up to scrutiny. Its overseas interventions, from Vietnam to Iraq, have resulted in the deaths of many civilian men, women and children. Yet, the U.S. presents itself as the moral authority on human rights.
The US feigns “concern” for the Muslims of Xinjiang during a period of history when it has participated in the deaths of many Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen and Iran. The Uighur genocide narrative is not about human rights – it is a weapon in the U.S.’s arsenal to undermine China’s rise.
The allegations of a Uighur genocide are a carefully crafted myth designed to serve Western geo-political interests. The data, the context, and the evidence overwhelmingly disprove these claims. While the U.S. and its allies continue their propaganda campaign, it is vital to critically examine their motives and question the narratives they advance.
BEST WISHES FOR A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR
GRAHAM PERRY
