Uighurs and the World: Price of Confrontation
Uighur concentration camps are the largest mass internment of an ethnic-religious minority group since World War II. Across the international community, these camps have come to resemble hubs for extreme and repressive policies against Muslim Uighurs. While true, the injustice is not restricted to the camps’ confines as many Uighurs from without have reportedly been subject to exploitation. Despite condemnation by international actors, responses have thus far been insufficient, and often restricted by strategic and economic interests.
Today, 10 million Uighurs reside in Xinjiang, an autonomous region in northwest China bordering Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. Xinjiang, once situated along the ancient Silk Road trading route, is well endowed with oil and natural resources and has developed rapidly over the past years, alongside mainland China. Consequently, more Han Chinese have migrated to the region, sparking a series of ethnic clashes. When the time came for China to impose certain policies towards the Uighurs, they were framed as being part of a “de-extremification” program. Under these policies, Beijing imposed authoritarian regulations on Xinjiang which, as a result, invited the wrongful imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of Uighurs in “re-education” camps.
Unfortunately, the exploitation of Uighurs for cheap labour is not exclusive to said camps. The New York Times revealed that a number of Chinese-manufactured face masks being sold in the United States were produced in factories that relied on forced Uighur labour. A recent AP report also disclosed evidence that Uighur women were subject to mass sterilization, forceful abortions or being forced into taking birth control against their will by the Chinese authorities. Some human rights experts have argued that these systematic and concerted efforts at controlling the Uighur population align strongly with the United Nation’s definition of genocide. Conversely, the Chinese Government has asserted that the camps are strictly educational training centers wherein Uighurs are provided skills training. China has also attempted to define the situation in Xinjiang as a counterterrorism initiative for the eradication of extremism emanating from the Uighur separatist movement.
As more information is revealed on the inhumane wrongdoings in Xinjiang, the international community has grown increasingly concerned. The United States has led a movement to hold China accountable for its actions. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Chinese officials involved in the human rights abuses and established import control mechanisms towards certain organizations and companies that are believed to be exploiting Uighur labour. The Department of Commerce recently added 28 Chinese governmental and commercial organizations to the Entity List. This measure limits the export of items under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to entities involved in China’s human rights violations targeting Uighurs and other Muslim groups in Xinjiang. “The U.S. Government and Department of Commerce cannot and will not tolerate the brutal suppression of ethnic minorities within China,” said Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross. Conversely, many activists and experts expressed their concerns that the sanctions were necessary yet not sufficient and that the US should have taken more substantial actions to pressure China. However, US-China cooperation is very critical for the long-lasting trade relations within these two countries. From the US’ side, in 2019, China was the US’ third largest goods export market with $106.4 billion in export revenue. The absence of effective policies shows that the US’ sympathy for the issue has been outweighed by their economic interests as the price of taking further action is too high for the U.S. economy.
Actors such as Canada, on the other hand, took on a far more passive approach. The Canadian Government condemned China under the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. However, that was the end of their involvement in the issue, which raised some eyebrows seeing as Canada positions itself as an avid protector of the Davids of the world. The subcommittee called for further actions and published regulation recommendations such as imposing economic sanctions and calling for multilateral action. As a result of the pressure by diplomats and human rights experts, The Canadian Government addressed the issue through meetings and letters which failed to account for the severity of the situation and brought no consequences onto the Chinese government. Earlier this month Canada marked its 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with China over a falling-out resulting from Trudeau’s vow to address Beijing’s “coercive diplomacy”. Relations between the two countries began to dour after the 2018 arrest of a top Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. executive in Vancouver on a US extradition request and have only intensified since. Both countries have a lot at stake to consider before letting the political tensions lead to a long-term disruption of the trade relations. However, economically, maintaining the relationship is far more critical for Canada than it is for China as China is currently Canada’s second largest trading partner after the US – with twice as much exports to Canada as its imports. The asymmetry in the trade relations establishes that behind the unresponsiveness of Canada lies the economic interests and trade-related concerns.
Turkey was among the countries that looked the other way when the issue was brought to their attention. President Erdogan identifies himself as a champion of Muslims around the world and based on shared cultural values and linguistic similarities, the country had a long history of sympathy for Turkic ethnic groups in the broader Central and West Asian region. In the past, Turkish diplomats in South Asia have even provided Uighur refugees with travel documents and helped them continue on to Turkey to protect them from facing imprisonment. Conversely, in July 2019, when concerned states issued a joint statement to the 41stsession of the UNHRC to condemn China’s “mass arbitrary detentions and related violations” of Uighurs, Turkey was not among the signatories. "Those who exploit the issue, those who try to gain something from the issue, by acting emotionally without thinking of the relationship that Turkey has with another country, unfortunately end up costing both the Turkish republic and their kinsman," Erdogan said. On July 10, when a coalition by two Turkish opposition parties raised a motion to form an ad hoc committee in the parliament to investigate “the problems of Uighur Turks exposed to China’s oppressive practices,” Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) voted against the initiative. An opposition lawmaker publicly accused Erdogan and his partners of selling the rights of Uighurs to China for $50 billion. Behind Erdogan’s uncharacteristic silence on the issue lies the need for Chinese investment to eliminate Turkey’s increasing current account deficit. Moreover, Turkey has become a vital piece in China’s $460 billion worth Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which involves construction projects in over 60 countries. Turkey and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway (TBK) project that is anticipated to transport 3 million passengers and 17 million tons of goods per year within several years the Chinese freight trains that pass the Bosporus via the Marmaray railway tunnel and continue on to Europe, and Kumport, Turkey’s third largest container port that China holds a 65 percent stake are also among the economic priorities that silenced Erdogan’s stance on the Uighur issue in Xinjiang.
As China continues to be determined that the concentration camps in Xinjiang are re-education facilities, the exploitation and human rights abuses persist and are made increasingly available to the public. With that being said, it remains unknown how much publicity is needed to tip the balance between safeguarding economic ties and outright complicity.