A MAGAZINE ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
by Massimo Introvigne
“>transformation through education camp.” Exclusive footage by Bitter Winter.
Last week, all of a sudden, the BBC destroyed any tactical propaganda advantages China might have obtained from WHO inspectors singing the praise of how cooperative and transparent were those who showed them the laboratories in Wuhan. No detective would expect to find clues on a crime scene after more than one year, and that China has “friends” at the WHO has been an open secret for years.
But any brownie points China might have imagined it was winning with international media disappeared when the BBC told the horrific tale of how women are systematically raped in Xinjiang
“>Xinjiang’s dreaded Transformation Through Education Camps
“>transformation through education camps. The story was not about occasional abuses by rogue guards. The brave women who testified denounced a pervasive “rape culture,” where sexual abuse is a tool to break Muslim identity and the self-respect of the female inmates. This is going so far that rape by prison guards is supplemented by night visits of masked Chinese men, to whom the female prisoners are “rented” for more abuse.
The Chinese foreign ministry ridiculed itself by arguing that the women who testified were “actresses” recruited by the BBC, while in fact all appeared with their real names, and their connections with the camps had been verified. The US, UK, and Australian government quoted the BBC report to condemn the atrocities and abuse of women in Xinjiang
“>Xinjiang. Other governments, international institutions, and politicians all around the world did the same.
Bitter Winter, which contributed to the BBC report by supplying exclusive footage taken inside the Transformation Through Education Camps
“>transformation through education camps, reviewed the program hours after it was broadcasted. We received through our usual channels praise for our article (and much more for the BBC, of course) from former inmates in Chinese “educational” camps and jails. Some women who never found the courage to testify about rape with their real names told us they are considering doing this.
They also insisted that the horrific scenes of rape and torture described in the BBC report do not happen only in Xinjiang
“>Xinjiang, nor are Muslim women the only victims. Female inmates from the banned religious movements labeled Xie Jiao
“>xie jiao “>The Church of Almighty God “>Falun Gong “>Xinjiang “>The Church of Almighty God “>Falun Gong(邪教). Often incorrectly translated as “evil cults,” the expression xie jiao (which has been used since the late Ming era) means “heterodox teachings” and indicates the religious movements included in the list of the xie jiao, which the government regards as hostile to the CCP, dangerous, and not “really” religious. Xie jiao are prohibited, constitute the black market of Chinese religion, and being active in a xie jiao is punished with severe jail penalties under Article 300.
(全能神教會). The largest Chinese Christian new religious movement, founded in 1991. Most of its first members were part of the Shouters. Also known as Eastern Lightning, it teaches that Jesus Christ has returned to Earth in the shape of a Chinese woman, recognized as Almighty God, who teaches the fullness of truth for the purification of humankind and the advent of a Millennial Kingdom. Its phenomenal growth alarmed the CCP. It was included in the list of the xie jiao in 1995, and is currently the single most persecuted religious group in China.
(法輪功). A large Chinese new religious movement, established by Li Hongzhi (李洪志) in 1992 and teaching both a variety of qi gong exercises and a spirituality rooted in the Three Teachings, with some New Age variations and overtones. Originally tolerated and even praised by the CCP as part of a legitimate revival of traditional Chinese health practices, it created concern in the authorities because of its rapid growth. It was banned in 1999, included in the list of the xie jiao, and severely persecuted.
(新疆, officially the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region). The “autonomous” region of China whose largest ethnic group is Uyghurs, with another 7% of Ethnic Kazakhs, and Islam as the majority religion. The World Uyghur Congress and other Uyghur organizations do not accept the name Xinjiang, which means “New Frontier” or “New Borderland” and was imposed by Imperial China in 1884, after it conquered or rather reconquered the region, that it had already occupied between 1760 and 1860. Uyghurs prefer the name “East Turkestan,” which was also used by two ephemeral independent states, known as the First (1933) and the Second (1944–49) East Turkestan Republics. In order to avoid the choice between “Xinjiang” and “East Turkestan,” both problematic designations, American scholar Rian Thum suggested to adopt the ancient name of the region, Altishahr (“Six Cities”), which is however rarely used outside of scholarly circles.
(全能神教會). The largest Chinese Christian new religious movement, founded in 1991. Most of its first members were part of the Shouters. Also known as Eastern Lightning, it teaches that Jesus Christ has returned to Earth in the shape of a Chinese woman, recognized as Almighty God, who teaches the fullness of truth for the purification of humankind and the advent of a Millennial Kingdom. Its phenomenal growth alarmed the CCP. It was included in the list of the xie jiao in 1995, and is currently the single most persecuted religious group in China.
(法輪功). A large Chinese new religious movement, established by Li Hongzhi (李洪志) in 1992 and teaching both a variety of qi gong exercises and a spirituality rooted in the Three Teachings, with some New Age variations and overtones. Originally tolerated and even praised by the CCP as part of a legitimate revival of traditional Chinese health practices, it created concern in the authorities because of its rapid growth. It was banned in 1999, included in the list of the xie jiao, and severely persecuted.
There is more. More than one ethnic Kazakh who now live in foreign countries insisted with Bitter Winter that the tale of how men are also raped in the Xinjiang
“>Xinjiang(新疆, officially the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region). The “autonomous” region of China whose largest ethnic group is Uyghurs, with another 7% of Ethnic Kazakhs, and Islam as the majority religion. The World Uyghur Congress and other Uyghur organizations do not accept the name Xinjiang, which means “New Frontier” or “New Borderland” and was imposed by Imperial China in 1884, after it conquered or rather reconquered the region, that it had already occupied between 1760 and 1860. Uyghurs prefer the name “East Turkestan,” which was also used by two ephemeral independent states, known as the First (1933) and the Second (1944–49) East Turkestan Republics. In order to avoid the choice between “Xinjiang” and “East Turkestan,” both problematic designations, American scholar Rian Thum suggested to adopt the ancient name of the region, Altishahr (“Six Cities”), which is however rarely used outside of scholarly circles.
We asked whether none of them came out to testify as a handful of brave women, some of them Ethnic Kazakhs
“>ethnic Kazakhs(哈薩克族). An ethnic minority of 1,5 million Chinese citizens who speak the Kazakh language and live in Xinjiang, where there are a Kazakh “autonomous” prefecture and three Kazakh “autonomous” counties. Almost all ethnic Kazakhs are Muslim, and they are subject to increasing religious persecution together with the Uyghurs.
Some of the men raped in the Xinjiang
“>Xinjiang “>human rights(新疆, officially the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region). The “autonomous” region of China whose largest ethnic group is Uyghurs, with another 7% of Ethnic Kazakhs, and Islam as the majority religion. The World Uyghur Congress and other Uyghur organizations do not accept the name Xinjiang, which means “New Frontier” or “New Borderland” and was imposed by Imperial China in 1884, after it conquered or rather reconquered the region, that it had already occupied between 1760 and 1860. Uyghurs prefer the name “East Turkestan,” which was also used by two ephemeral independent states, known as the First (1933) and the Second (1944–49) East Turkestan Republics. In order to avoid the choice between “Xinjiang” and “East Turkestan,” both problematic designations, American scholar Rian Thum suggested to adopt the ancient name of the region, Altishahr (“Six Cities”), which is however rarely used outside of scholarly circles.
The fundamental rights of all human beings to life, freedom, justice, and safety, defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.
Until some of the raped men will testify with their names, surnames, and details of their detention, the CCP
“>CCP “>transformation through education campsIt stands for Chinese Communist Party, which from 1949 controls all social and political life in China. Members of CCP should in principle be self-proclaimed atheists. The ultimate goal of CCP is suppression of religion. However, how this goal is achieved has varied during time, and after Chairman Mao’s death the CCP has acknowledged that, notwithstanding its efforts, religions may survive in China for a long time.
The camps that replaced the laojiao after the latter were abolished in 2013. Scholars believe that they currently have one and a half million inmates, of which roughly one million are Uyghurs. Although the CCP, and a 2018 law that legalized them in Xinjiang, presented them as “educational” facilities, in fact inmates are submitted to a inhuman regime of labor and indoctrination and to strong pressure to renounce their religious faith, with instances of torture and suspicious deaths frequently reported.
One of the women who talked to the BBC, Tursenay Ziawudun, was subsequently interviewed by Fox News, and mentioned that, “We’re humans, but the way they torture these girls and even boys it’s like we’re animals.” “Even boys,” she said. Another part of the horrible truth is gradually emerging
