XINJIANG, CHINA — China's continued crackdown against the country's Uyghur ethnic minority shows no signs of abating.
Uyghurs are a Turkic Muslim minority primarily located in the Xinjiang Province in western China. Since the arrival of a new regional party secretary from Tibet in 2016, they have been facing increasingly constraining measures, reports the New York Times.
Authorities can arbitrarily send people to detention camps considered suspicious, without charge or trial. Displaying religious signs, having relatives abroad, or even speaking Chinese poorly have proved to be enough to set off alarm bells.
No official figures exist, but a recent report by the Jamestown foundation estimates that more than 100,000 people are currently being held indefinitely. This goes alongside a widely-reported mass surveillance program.
Chinese authorities claim that the crackdown is only directed against Islamic terrorism and separatism, reported state-run newspaper China Daily. However, repeated human rights violations have been reported by various NGOs.
