Conversations about the Uyghurs and Xinjiang with people in China.
May 29, 2021
An Uyghur instructor stands near a window during a class at the Xinjiang Islamic Institute as a Chinese flag flies outside, as seen during a government organized visit for foreign journalists, in Urumqi in western China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on April 22, 2021.
Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
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Over recent months, China’s government has been in overdrive to combat allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang. To cite just one example, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying dismissed the charges of genocide as “the most preposterous lie of the century, an outrageous insult and affront to the Chinese people, and a gross breach of international law and basic norms governing international relations.”
The boycott movement marks a blurred line between genuine anger and manufactured outrage.
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April 29, 2021
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Over the past month, a widespread online and offline campaign in China has emerged to support the production of cotton in Xinjiang and denounce international clothing brands that pledged to eschew its use over forced labor concerns. At first glance, the effort – complete with viral hashtags and celebrity support – may look like grassroots support for the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) efforts to hit back at criticism of its human rights abuses committed against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims. And yet, even as some participation in the campaign is inevitably organic, its media dimensions point to strong party-state backing.