On the last full day of Trump’s presidency, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that China was committing genocide against Uighurs and other Muslim peoples, the harshest condemnation of Beijing’s crackdown in western Xinjiang.
The announcement was hailed by the exiled Uighurs as a long-awaited recognition of the extent of oppression in Xinjiang. It was also criticized as a movement that was delayed for a long time and tainted by the loss of credibility of the Trump administration and efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election.
The next Biden administration indicated its general agreement with the designation. A spokesman for Joseph R. Biden Jr. said during the presidential campaign last year that Beijing’s policies in the region resulted in genocide.
Here’s a look at the Xinjiang region, China’s crackdown there and what the declaration of genocide could mean for the global response.
Where is Xinjiang and why does it matter to China?
Xinjiang, in northwest China, has a large number of Uighurs, Kazakhs and other mainly Muslim groups. It is culturally, linguistically and religiously more similar to Central Asia than to the Chinese interior.
The geography is dominated by the vast Taklamakan desert in the center of the region, several mountain ranges and traditional oasis cities in the south. The area is rich in natural resources and has some of the largest oil deposits in China.
The Communist Party has ruled the region with a heavy hand since taking control in 1949. For many Uighurs, Xinjiang is known as Eastern Turkestan, a name shared by two independent, short-lived republics that existed before the Communist takeover.
Uighurs have long resisted Chinese control of the region, which has seen an influx of ethnic Chinese migrants and increased restrictions on the local language, culture and religion. Minority groups in Xinjiang say they are not given jobs or contracts because of widespread racial discrimination.
Resentment has sometimes turned to violence, including attacks on police and civilians. In 2009, nearly 200 people, mostly Han Chinese, were killed in riots in Urumqi, the regional capital.
In 2016, a new Communist Party chief, Chen Quanguo, was transferred from Tibet to Xinjiang. He began to carry out an intensified campaign of repression, putting large numbers of Uighurs, Kazakhs and other minority groups in re-education camps.
Under Chen’s command, the use of surveillance, in the form of high-tech facial recognition monitoring and traditional measures, such as police checkpoints, has grown in the region. China has also tried to control the growth of the Uighur population, and researchers say it has used repressive methods, such as forced sterilizations.
A large number of children in Xinjiang have been placed in boarding schools designed to assimilate and indoctrinate them, according to plans published by the government. And authorities carried out widespread destruction of mosques and shrines while turning others into tourist sites.
What are the fields?
Authorities have held one million or more people in internment camps in Xinjiang, the country’s most comprehensive mass detention program since the Mao era. A wide variety of behaviors can lead to detention, including acts of religious devotion, travel to certain countries, violations of birth restrictions or installation of cell phone applications that allow encrypted messages.
The authorities initially denied the mass arrests. Then they recognized what they called a vocational training program designed to contain terrorism, separatism and religious extremism, giving people professional skills and Chinese language training. Those who were held in camps describe a strict prison environment, full of monotonous political indoctrination and, for many, terrifying attacks of violence and physical abuse by guards.
In 2019, Chinese officials said they had closed the program and released most of the detainees, a statement that was met with great skepticism by researchers and activist groups. Although there were signs that some camps were closed and some of those kept released, China also continued to expand detention facilities in the region, especially high-security prisons.
The region has also experienced a record increase in arrests, trials and prison sentences, according to official data released in 2019. In addition, authorities have promoted work programs in Xinjiang, including the transfer of workers within the region and to other parts of the country. China, which critics say are likely to involve coercion and forced labor.
How did the world respond?
The global response to the crackdown in Xinjiang has been relatively quiet, an indication of China’s global influence. Last year, the United States imposed sanctions on Chinese officials, companies and government agencies operating in Xinjiang.
The declaration of genocide is the most forceful response to date. Last year, a Canadian parliamentary subcommittee reached the same conclusion. Pompeo’s statement may lead to new penalties on the part of the United States, but those decisions will now be in the hands of the Biden government.
A test will be whether the Biden government will try to persuade American allies to support efforts to confront Beijing for its oppression in Xinjiang in a way that the Trump administration did not. During his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Antony J. Blinken, Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, indicated that the United States would try to lobby with the support of other nations.
“When we are working with, not denigrating, our allies, this is a source of strength for us to deal with China,” he said.