Yet the leaks paint a grim picture of heavily fortified re-education centers, designed to turn Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities into good Chinese citizens who also speak Mandarin.
And the students can’t leave until they have become just that.
The leaks are hugely embarrassing for Beijing, and there is almost certainly a hunt for the culprit happening now.
But don’t expect the Chinese government to demolish the camps and apologize.
23 versus 54
The leaked documents are far from the first revelation of human rights violations inside the Xinjiang camps.
But the reports and condemnation haven’t provoked any public back-down from the Chinese government. If anything, it has stuck to its guns even harder.
“Let me reiterate our position that Xinjiang affairs are China’s internal affairs,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Monday after the latest leak.
“Certain media are trying to smear China’s counter-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts in Xinjiang by despicably hyping up Xinjiang-related issues, but their attempts will not succeed. Stability, ethnic solidarity and harmony in Xinjiang is the best response to such disinformation.”
From China’s perspective, there is not a consensus against them in the international community.
With some of the world’s most prominent Muslim nations signaling their support, why would China back down in the face of a few leaks?
Olympic-sized worries
One event has the potential to tip the balance. In February 2022, Beijing is due to host the Winter Olympics for the first time — and China is sparing no expense
The 2008 Summer Olympics in the Chinese capital were a spectacular re-emergence on the world stage for a country that was heavily impoverished just a few decades ago.
Now the government wants to repeat that moment. But if the revelations over Xinjiang continue to mount, and Western condemnation grows, there could be significant pressure on countries to boycott the 2022 Games.
Some commentators are already suggesting that the international community could use the games to send a strong message.
“President Donald Trump and the United States Olympic Committee should jointly announce that the American delegation will boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics unless Xinjiang’s internment camps are shuttered and subsequently demolished,” he said.
Still, the Chinese government remains adamant that its policies in Xinjiang have made the region safer and more prosperous.
And it is a rare day when Beijing backs down — even in the face of global condemnation.
Source : Nbcnewyork