The Uyghurs: The essential facts everyone should know

China has been accused of committing genocide against the Uyghurs. Here's what you need to know, and what you can do about it.

Some people are refusing to watch the Winter Olympics this year because of concerns over China's dismal human rights record of the Uyghurs, a persecuted minority in China. The US, Britain, Canada, and other nations have refused to send officials to the Games in a quasi-boycott.

A recent British report accused China of committing genocide against the Uyghurs. Here are some essential facts about the Uyghurs, and suggestions for how we all can support this beleaguered population.

1. There are over 11 million Uyghurs, with a proud history and unique culture.

Uyghurs are a distinct ethnic group, mostly living in Xinjiang, a vast region in northwestern China. Xinjiang is China's largest region; its official name is the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The "Autonomous" in its name theoretically means XUAR has some measure of self-governance, though in practice this is extremely limited (as in Tibet, another autonomous Chinese region).

Most Uyghurs are Sunni Muslim and share cultural and linguistic similarities with other Central Asian peoples. They were the first ethnic group in Central Asia to speak a Turkic language. Records of Uyghurs living in Central Asia go back to ancient times. Chinese records from the 2nd century BCE mention Uyghurs. In the 7th century, a Uyghur kingdom flourished along the Orhon River in present day Mongolia. After being conquered by invading Kyrgyz armies, the Uyghurs established another kingdom in the 1200s amongst the Tian Shan mountains, which lie along the border between China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Some Uyghurs continue to live in present Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, though the vast majority, over 11 million, live in China.

The Uyghur language is similar to Uzbek and Turkish. In the old Soviet Union, it's written in Cyrillic letters and in some Western countries it's written using Latin letters, but in China Uygurs have adopted Arabic script.

2. Chinese-Uyghurs tensions can be traced to the 9/11 attacks in America.

There have long been tensions between Uyghurs and the dominant Han ethnic group in China, but relations began to sour substantially after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. Professor Sean Roberts from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., is the author of the book "The War on the Uyghurs." In 2021, he explained on National Public Radio that "Almost immediately after Sept. 11, the Chinese government produced a lot of documents suggesting that it faced a serious terrorist threat from Uyghurs ... These documents were somewhat fanciful and unbelievable."

Most countries, including the United States, dismissed these claims, until 2002, when the U.S. identified an Uyghur-linked organization that China had claimed was terrorist in nature to al-Qaida. After that, Prof. Roberts, observed, China felt it had a "kind of license (for) this idea of counterterrorism as justifying their policies in the region."

China soon identified "three evils" in Xinjiang that they said had to be stamped out: terrorism, extremism and separatism. "Separatism" was defined not only as a desire to be politically separate (which some Uyghurs had historically endorsed). China defined any act of cultural autonomy as separatism: Uyghur language and Uyghur culture were suddenly suspect.

Tensions simmered until 2009, when they spilled over into three days of ethnic violence that left nearly 200 people dead, according to Chinese authorities. The riots started in a toy factory, where online rumors swirled that Uyghur workers had attacked a Han female worker. Han employees seemingly attacked their Uyghur colleagues, and ignited a conflagration that engulfed much of Xinjiang. After that turning point, violence became more common between Uyghurs and Han Chinese in Xinjiang and some Uyghur separatists perpetrated violent attacks.

In a grim spiral of violence, Uyghur radicalization and violence have increased alongside Chinese persecution. Al Qaida and other radical Islamist organizations have targeted Chinese Uyghur's for recruitment, and the Uyghur separatist Turkistan Islamic Movement, which hopes to bring about an independent Uyghur homeland, has orchestrated over 200 terrorist attacks in China.

3. Since 2014, China has pursued a brutal policy of repression against Uyghurs.

After many years of violence in the early 2000s, China turned to a new, brutal new model for controlling the Uyghurs: wide scale imprisonment, rationalized to the rest of the world as "re-education centers".

Starting in about 2017, though some experts say as early as 2014, China began constructing a vast array of prison camps. The scale is enormous. China won't disclose the true number of camps, so human rights organizations and journalists have had to rely on creative methods to guess their true scope. In 2018, journalists from the Reuters news service analyzed satellite imagery to observe that 39 prison camps grew by nearly 300 percent between 2017 and 2018, covering the area of 140 soccer fields. Researchers analyzing security funding in Xinjiang found that China increased its spending on "security" in the region by nearly $3 billion in 2017 alone.

In 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy institute estimated the number of prison camps in Xinjiang at 380. "The evidence in this database shows that despite Chinese officials' claims about detainees graduating from the camps, significant investment in the construction of new detention facilities has continued throughout 2019 and 2020," ASPI official Nathan Ruser noted at the time. It's possible that prison construction has continued in the intervening years. It's estimated that anywhere between 800,000 and 2 million Uyghurs are currently imprisoned.

"Most people in the camps have never been charged with crimes and have no legal avenues to challenge their detentions," the Council on Foreign Relations has observed. "The detainees seem to have been targeted for a variety of reasons, according to media reports, including traveling to or contacting people from any of the twenty-six countries China considered sensitive, such as Turkey and Afghanistan; attending services at mosques; having more than three children; and sending texts containing Quranic verses. Often, their only crime is being Muslim, human rights groups say, adding that many Uyghurs have been labeled as extremists simply for practicing their religion."

Chinese authorities characterize the camps as re-education camps and insist that residents can leave them once they have been de-radicalized. However, foreign observers and journalists have not been allowed to inspect them.

4. Many everyday products are made with Uyghur forced labor.

Conditions inside the prison camps are brutal. Prisoners must vow loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, learn Mandarin, and promise to give up Islam. Some former prisoners have reported being subject to sleep deprivation and constant surveillance. Female prisoners report being brutalized by guards. The children of adults sent to the prison camps are sent to be raised in state orphanages.

Some of the prison camps are built near industrial centers, fueling speculation that imprisoned Uyghurs are being used as slave labor in factories. Xinjiang is home to about 20 percent of the world's cotton. In 2020, the British Broadcasting Corporation announced that "research seen by the BBC showed that much of that cotton export is picked by forced labour."

Several western clothing brands - including H&M, Nike, Adidas, Calvin Klein, Converse, Burberry, UnderArmour, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, New Balance, and Zara - have pledged not to use cotton from Xinjiang in recent months. In retaliation, these 11 brands face a widespread boycott by consumers in China, encouraged by official social media channels.

A 2021 study by Sheffield Hallam University in Britain found that nearly half of the global supply of polysilicon, an important component of solar panels, is made in Xinjiang – much of it by imprisoned Uyghur laborers. Smartphone manufacturers have also been accused of relying on the labor of Uyghur prisoners.

Some companies have been cutting ties with Xinjiang factories, and governments are beginning to slap sanctions on China for relying on Uyghur workers as slave labor. In March 2021, the United States, European Union, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on China for "repressive practices against Uyghur Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang". In July, the United States added additional sanctions on a state-owned company that partnered with some of the world's leading brands of smartphones. However, there is still much more to do to end abusive labor practices.

5. China has been accused of genocide against the Uyghurs.

In December 2021, a British-based independent tribunal accused China of genocide. Sir Geoffrey Nice, the British barrister who chaired the hearings, explained that China perpetrated "a deliberate, systematic and concerted policy" to bring about "long-term reduction of Uyghur and other ethnic minority populations." In some horrific cases, Uyghur women have even been sterilized in order to prevent them having children.

The United States, Canada, and the Netherlands have all formally accused China of genocide against the Uyghurs. In a 2021 State Department report, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused China of "genocide and crimes against humanity" in its treatment of the Uyghurs.

6. Jewish groups have called for more help.

Jews have been among the most vocal critics, calling for the world to take more action to help the Uyghurs. In December 2021, a group of over 200 Jewish organizations sent a letter to President Biden demanding stronger action against China. "The horror stories we are hearing of Uyghurs taken in the night, separated from their families, and put on trains to forced labor camps are all too familiar to the Jewish community," the letter stated.

In Britain, the official Board of Deputies of British Jews used International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, 2022, to call for more action. Board President Marie van der Zyl sent a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, writing that: "As a community, we are always extremely hesitant to consider comparisons with the Holocaust." Yet given the obvious similarities between the forced imprisonment of Uyghurs and the Holocaust, she felt a "moral duty" to speak out. Uyghur persecution is "shaping up to be the most serious outrage of our time," her letter stated.

For some Jews, these 2022 Winter Olympics in China are reminiscent of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Then, too, there was an international outcry over the Nuremberg race laws banning Jews from much of German public life which had been passed the year before.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum wrote, "Soft-pedaling its antisemitic agenda and plans for territorial expansion, the regime exploited the Games to bedazzle many foreign spectators and journalists with an image of a peaceful, tolerant Germany. Having rejected a proposed boycott of the 1936 Olympics, the sponsoring athletic and Olympic organizations of the United States and other western democracies missed the opportunity to take a stand that, some observers at the time claimed, might have given Hitler pause and bolstered international resistance to Nazi tyranny."

7. We can take a stand.

Two thousand years ago, the 1st century CE sage Rabbi Tarfon said "You are not required to complete the task, yet you are not free to withdraw from it" (Ethics of the Fathers, 2:21). Even when faced with situations that seem so vast and overwhelming that our individual actions might not make much difference, we're still obligated to do what we can.

One step we all can take is to support legislation in our home countries that emphasizes Uyghur rights. Contact your local elected representatives and ask what they are doing to help the Uyghurs. Take some time to educate yourself about sanctions and legislation, and consider candidates' stands on the issue of Uyghur persecution next time you vote.

Another action is investigating whether the products we buy are reliably sourced. It can be difficult to know where all the components in our clothes and electronics come from, but we can each read up on our favorite products' policies and vote with our pocketbooks, choosing to patronize companies that source their products ethically.

And speak up. Don't let the persecution of the Uyghurs go unnoticed. Read about the persecution and express your thoughts, whether it's in letters to newspaper editors, social media, or conversation. Your voice matters.

Dr. Alt Miller lives with her family in Chicago, and has lectured internationally on Jewish topics. Her book Angels at the table: a Practical Guide to Celebrating Shabbat takes readers through the rituals of Shabbat and more, explaining the full beautiful spectrum of Jewish traditions with warmth and humor. It has been praised as "life-changing", a modern classic, and used in classes and discussion groups around the world.