Xinjiang: China’s blatant human rights violations against its minority Uighur Muslim population keep reaching new heights.
Reminiscent of the indoctrination camps in George Orwell’s dystopian book 1984 that sought to mould anybody who is slightly deemed conformist into model citizens via heavy-handed methods, the Communist party detained people to turn them into model citizens.
Under the outward agenda of eliminating extremist elements for the sake of national security, a fierce campaign has been underway to systematically remove traces of the Uighur-Muslim identity from the country’s national fabric.
Then, as Reuters reported that the Chinese soldiers were having their way with Uighur women while their husbands were taken away to re-education camps. Adolescents too have not been spared by the government’s treatment. The New York Times’ Amy Qin reported that while parents have been sent to internment camps Uighur children are being taken away and sent to boarding schools.
Within these schools, a less aggressive form of indoctrination is taking place as children are more impressionable and moldable. The party is spinning that this initiative for these schools was necessary as a means to elevate children from poor families out of poverty.
The move removes any religious and cultural aspect of the Uighur identity by forcing them to take dance classes and art classes that eliminate traces of any “extremist” behaviour. Partaking in such acts supposedly prompts the Uighurs to shed the “radical” behaviour which prompts them to deem such activities as “forbidden” for them.
Besides the so-called fanatical tendencies which the Chinese government feels Uighurs are susceptible to, the re-education of these kids also seeks to make them speak Mandarin or Cantonese instead of their native mother tongue.
News regarding the new depth to which China’s methods have reached comes at a time when the country is set to launch its first national digital currency. While China is making strides on the technological front, the human rights situation is a different story.