Radio Free Asia (RFA) , a faith-based rights organization that recently launched an online database listing companies in various industries allegedly involved in the forced labor of ethnic Uyghurs in China's northwestern Xinjiang province. The database aims to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions. In June, the U.S. enacted the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which bans products coming from Xinjiang.
A recent found that China is using Western social media and other digital platforms to repress and respond to criticism of its human rights violations against Uyghurs and other ethnic Turk minorities in the Xinjiang region, according to RFA.
issued by researchers at Sheffield Hallam University's Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice says the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC or Bingtuan), a Chinese state-run paramilitary corporate in Xinjiang, has played a role in the Chinese government's repression of Uyghurs, including evidence of human rights abuses. Beijing has repeatedly denied any human rights violations in the region and said what rights groups describe as detention centers are actually education training centers.
Thai activists raised the alarm when "dozens" of Uyghurs from around Thailand were moved to one detention facility in Bangkok, stoking fears they may soon be deported back to China, . Uyghurs fear repression if sent back to China. A Thai official told BenarNews the move was for "security reasons" and would improve the "living conditions" of the Uyghurs.
Uyghur prisoners in Xinjiang were forced to speak only in Mandarin during supervised virtual meetings relatives, . Activists say this is a part of Beijing's efforts to eliminate Uyghur language and culture. Uyghurs traditionally speak their native language at home, which is not Mandarin.
"My mother was there once to meet onscreen with my nephew. My mother was very uncomfortable hearing my nephew speaking to them in Chinese. My nephew's wife fainted at the time, hearing him speak only in Chinese."