Leaked documents show China’s heavy-handed tactics against its Muslim citizens: New York Times
The New York Times reporting, based on documents shared by a member of the Chinese political establishment, shows the extent of Beijing’s surveillance and control of the Uighur population in Xinjiang. A security camera is placed in a renovated section of the old City in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China. File Photo/Reuters
A new reporting by The New York Times says China has been detaining its Muslim citizens in Xinjiang at various internment camps as part of the state-initiated indoctrination programme in what Beijing refers to as its fight against Islamic extremism.
The report suggests that hundreds of thousands from the Chinese Muslim community were put into internment camps and prisons over the past three years in Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in northwest China.
A recently released 403 pages of internal documents that were shared with The New York Times have the details of the origins and growth of the indoctrination programme of ethnic Uighurs, Kazakhs and other minority groups of the region.
The Times’ reporting, which was based on the leaked papers, include 24 documents with nearly 200 pages of internal speeches by Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders, and more than 150 pages of directives and reports on the surveillance and control of the Uighur population in Xinjiang.
“There are also references to plans to extend restrictions on Islam to other parts of China,” the Times report says.
In a series of tweets on Saturday, one of the co-authors of the article, Austin Ramzy, said: “It is stunning to hear party leaders in their own words ordering a drastic crackdown on extremism, including mass detentions, and the cold calculations with which they weigh the consequences.”
The Times said the papers were brought to light by a member of the Chinese political establishment who requested anonymity and expressed hope that their disclosure would prevent party leaders, including President Xi, from escaping culpability for the mass detentions.
As per the leaked documents, the authorities in Xinjiang were also concerned about the region’s students who would return to their home during vacations or after completing their studies sponsored by the state at various parts of the country; and whose parents were detained.
The report mentions that since 2017, hundreds of thousands of Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Muslims have been sent to internment camps to undergo months or years of indoctrination and interrogation aimed at transforming them into secular and loyal supporters of the party.
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