China: How is Beijing Whitewashing Its Xinjiang Policy?

One year after the UN released a thorough report on human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority in northwestern China, Beijing is striving to show the world a different image of life in the Xinjiang region.Analysts warn little progress has been made in investigating the "serious human rights violations" reported against the Uyghur minority a year ago, as China's leadership is trying to reframe the narrative on its policies in the Xinjiang region.

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In 2022, a report from the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) concluded that the Chinese government's discriminatory detention of Uyghurs in Xinjiang — an autonomous region in northwestern China — may constitute "crimes against humanity."

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Beijing promptly dismissed the accusation, labelling it "disinformation and lies fabricated by anti-China forces." A UN formal agenda for discussing the issue fell through as China and its allies voted against it.

A rare visit to Xinjiang by Chinese President Xi Jinping has once again raised concerns among activist groups and human rights organizations.

They believe that the government is now preparing to "reaffirm the policy direction" with a more positive narrative about Xinjiang.

Beijing tightens its grip on Xinjiang

In August, Xi visted Xinjiang after returning to China from the BRICS summit in South Africa, without first stopping in the capital Beijing.

"You can see how much the Uyghur population occupied his mind," Aziz Isa Elkun, an exiled Uyghur poet and research assistant at SOAS, University of London, told DW.

This was Xi's second visit to the region since a massive crackdown began a decade ago. The first time was in July 2022, a month before the OHCHR report was released.

China's recent focus on Xinjiang, as Elkun claimed, is due to the region's crucial role in "the main conflicts with the West over the rule of law, democracy and human rights."

Since Xi came to power in 2013, Xinjiang has become a heavily militarized zone with increased high-tech security and widespread digital surveillance. Over 1 million Uyghurs have reportedly been detained in so-called "reeducation camps."

While China justified those camps as "vocational education and training centres" used to combat extremism and terrorism, critics argued they represent an attempted genocide to erase the Uyghur identity.

"Uyghur Muslims are sent to detention centres for … 'wearing a veil', growing 'a long beard', or violating the government's family planning policy," Ayjaz Wani, a fellow at the Strategic Studies Programme at ORF, told DW.

Guided tours expected to surge

Amid growing global attention on Xinjiang, China has been eager to portray the region as a "success story" by welcoming more tourists.

During a speech in Xinjiang last month, Xi noted that the region was "no longer a remote area" and should open up more to domestic and foreign tourism.

"Beijing's strategy has been to manage perception through guided tours in Xinjiang," said Wani, emphasising that the goal is to show the impression of "normalcy" in the region.

AFP news agency reported that Xinjiang's tourism bureau planned to spend over 700 million yuan (around €89.3 million) this year, with luxury hotels and campsites to be built across the area.

The Uyghur Human Rights Project recently called on Western tourist companies to cease offering tour packages through Xinjiang.

Despite this, Wani expected there to be "an increase in guided tours," notably from Islamic and European countries, and the diplomats on these tours will commend Beijing's efforts in combating terrorism, "even though this may not be the case," he said.

Is China getting away from accountability?

Human rights groups are calling for more action from global society as the UN report has been released for a year.

"We're hoping that other governments and the UN will take follow-up measures now," Maya Wang, an associate director in the Asia division at Human Rights Watch, told DW.

With events like Russia's war in Ukraine diverting global attention, advocates face challenges in maintaining pressure on the government's oppression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Limited access to the region has also added to the difficulties. "The Chinese government are experts in information control," Wang said, highlighting that HRW and the UN are both not allowed to freely access the region to do fact-finding work.

Amid the lack of collective pressure from other governments, the chances are that China believes "it could get away with the most severe international crimes without consequences."

Although the scale of the camps has been reduced in recent years, none of the policies underlying the widespread suppression have been reversed or lifted, Wang said.

"For the Uyghurs who live there, life has always been at the brunt of the repression," she noted.

In the meantime, the Uyghur diaspora also continually face the risk of harassment or threats from the Chinese government when they speak out.

As a Uyghur academic in exile, Elkun's contact with his family living in Xinjiang was cut off by Beijing in 2017, in an apparent attempt to silence him.

"I feel very bitter each time I think about them," he said, referring to the family members whose situation has remained unknown ever since.

Despite his own struggles, Elkun emphasised that some Uyghurs have suffered even worse fates. "We will bring justice for the victims … The world will never forget," he said.

Edited by: Keith Walker

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 11, 2023 07:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).