More evidence has emerged of the Chinese government’s systematic repression of the Uighurs. This is evidenced by documents and photos from the hacked Chinese police servers. The documents were examined by a range of international media, including BBC†
Journalists obtained the documents after hacking into the servers of the Chinese police. The “Xianjiang Police Files,” as the documents are called, include tens of thousands of photos of Uyghurs that the Chinese government placed in the camps.
The Chinese government maintains that the camps are merely “re-education” schools. However, photos show that Uyghurs are constantly under surveillance by visibly armed guards. A document was also found containing instructions for the guards to shoot people on the spot while trying to escape.
The administration shows that Uyghurs can indeed be sent to a re-education camp if they visit “sensitive countries”. They can also be imprisoned because their relatives are guilty of “suspicious acts”. Sometimes the reason for their imprisonment is completely absent from the records.
“Disobedience” entails severe punishments within the camps, such as confinement in isolation, deprivation of food, and even corporal punishment. The investigation team concluded that there are no clear criteria for criminal offenses and associated penalties, which are therefore used “arbitrarily”.
The international media spent months verifying the authenticity of the documents. according to BBC The photos and other documents clearly prove that the Chinese government is systematically persecuting the Uyghurs.
UN representative visits Xinjiang
The publication of the documents coincides with the visit of Michelle Bachelet, the highest representative of the United Nations for human rights affairs, to Xinjiang.
Critics fear that Bachelet cannot conduct a full investigation because things could be omitted. For example, China does not allow researchers to enter the region unaccompanied.
The Uyghurs are a Muslim minority in China. Amnesty International and the Independent People’s Court, among others, concluded last year that China was guilty of genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the coverage was from the BBC. This is not entirely true, it is about an international group of media of which the BBC is a part.
