Advertisement
Human rights in China: activists say sensationalist reports on Xinjiang do more harm than good
- Founder of Xinjiang Victims Database says witnesses losing credibility and being regarded as cheap propaganda ‘would be disastrous and harmful to all of us’
- Professor from ethnic minority Hui says commentary on Xinjiang is being stifled in part by Uygur activist groups using heightened language
Reading Time:5 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
99+
International pressure against China over its Xinjiang policies has gained traction in recent months, with China criticised over the treatment of Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. China has denied allegations of forced labour and detention. We look at the issues in this series.
Since starting the Xinjiang Victims Database in 2018, Gene Bunin has seen the world’s media turn its attention to allegations that China is violating the rights of ethnic groups in the Xinjiang region.
But while Bunin, a Russian-US human rights activist, says the attention is welcome, he says it is not helpful when information shared by the media is inaccurate.
The Xinjiang Victims Database has as many as 14,500 cases showing examples of Uygurs who have been detained and whose whereabouts are still unknown. Many of these cases have been cross-checked and verified with witness testimony and online evidence.
The United Nations has estimated that up to 1 million Uygurs and other members of Muslim ethnic minority groups have been detained in re-education camps. Since January, Washington has labelled China’s repression of the Uygurs and other Muslim ethnic minority groups as “genocide”.
Bunin spent several years in Xinjiang, studying and learning the Uygur language. He left the region in 2018 after his Uygur contacts began disappearing.
Advertisement