Chinese documents demanding ‘no mercy’ to ethnic minorities prove ‘genocide’ plans, claim Uighurs

Uighur activists and supporters say that leaked Chinese documents that reveal the government’s plans to detain millions of ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region are ‘truly chilling’ and prove ‘genocide.’ 

Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic candidate for the 2020 US election, said the trove of documents is a ‘horrifying human rights violation’.

It comes after a trove of documents revealed details of the Chinese government’s clampdown on Uighurs and other Muslims in the country’s western Xinjiang region under President Xi Jinping, the New York Times reported.

United Nations experts and activists say at least 1 million Uighurs and members of other largely Muslim minority groups have been detained in camps in Xinjiang in a crackdown that has drawn international condemnation.

The documents, which the newspaper on Saturday said were leaked by ‘a member of the Chinese political establishment,’ show how Xi gave a series of internal speeches to officials during and after a 2014 visit to Xinjiang following a stabbing attack by Uighur militants at a train station that killed 31 people.

The report said Xi called for an ‘all-out ‘struggle against terrorism, infiltration, and separatism’ using the ‘organs of dictatorship,’ and showing ‘absolutely no mercy’.’

The documents show that the Chinese leadership’s fears were heightened by terrorist attacks in other countries and the US removal of troops from Afghanistan.

Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren said the report details ‘a horrifying human rights violation’

Today, China’s ambassador to the United Kingdom on Monday dismissed reporting by Western media on the Chinese government’s policies in Xinjiang as ‘pure fabrication’ and ‘fake news’. 

And China’s foreign ministry has lashed out at The New York Times over its release of the leaked documents.

Spokesman Geng Shuang said today the newspaper ignored the true reasons behind and subsequent success of what China terms a campaign to end poverty, separatism and religious extremism. 

He said Xinjiang hasn’t suffered a major incident in three years, about the time the internments were taking place in earnest.

The documents detail the pivotal role played by president and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping

Geng called article a ‘clumsy patchwork’ based on ‘selected interpretation’ of the documents aimed at smearing China’s efforts in Xinjiang.

He did not, however, question the validity of the documents, which detail among other things, the pivotal role played by president and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping.

Beijing denies any mistreatment of the Uighurs or others in Xinjiang, saying it is providing vocational training to help stamp out Islamic extremism and separatism and teach new skills. 

The Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper said in an editorial today that the report ‘lacks morality’ and accused some in the West of being ‘eager to see Xinjiang engulfed in extreme violence and chaos’.

It said China had taken ‘decisive measures’ in the region to ensure it did not become ‘another Republic of Chechnya’.

The documents show how officials were given talking points to explain to returning university students that their family members had been taken away for training, and how the programme faced pushback from some local officials, the report said.

They also show that the internment camps expanded quickly after Chen Quanguo was appointed in August 2016 as the party boss of the region, the report said. 

Chen had taken a tough line to quell restiveness against Communist Party rule during his previous posting in Tibet.

The World Uighur Congress called China a ‘country with concentration camps’ and said the policy was a ‘cultural genocide’ in a retweet.