I am Rushan Abbas - Uyghur Activist and survivor of Chinese oppression. My sister and my friends are currently trapped in western China's concentration camps. Ask me anything!

Good afternoon, thank you for your work and your time answering questions. I’m wondering about the steps you think governments that are allies with China can do to push for action. There is unquestionably at the very least a cultural genocide occurring - but nothing is changing. Am I oblivious to government action already taking place? Are there actions within the US for which citizens can advocate?

Thanks for your response. Theres a few things that western democratic countries can do -

Use trade to pressure China to end it's repressive policies. By punishing the Chinese governments international economy for its actions domestically, these governments can hopefully get China to back down.

If this doesn't work, we can use the global magnitsky act to specifically sanction Chinese officials involved in repressive actions in XinJiang. The US government has been taking actions to punish china for this, with major bills passing in both the house and the senate focused on these issues.

You are right - it is unquestionably a cultural genocide. The holocaust didn't start overnight, and there's very real parallels here. By standing up to China now, these governments can prevent even worse things from happening in the near future.

There's a reason we say "Lest We Forget" on Nov. 11. It's not just about remembering the soldiers; It's about remembering what led to war in the first place.

Yes, thank you. Gratefully, the world once stood up and has said “never again” for such horrendous crimes against one race and religion. Now, the "never again" is happening all over again. Unless it follows with a real action, it will be a real physical genocide. The holocaust did not start with mass executions and gas chambers. It always starts with hate and now the hatred against the Uyghurs is escalating rapidly as the Chinese regime is getting away with incarcerating 3 million innocent people in the modern-day concentration camps.

I talked about the concentration camps with overseas Chinese students in the USA. They claim that it is a Western conspiracy to destroy China's international reputation. They also showed me videos on Chinese social media showing various terrorist attacks that have occurred in Xinjiang in the past decades. Apparently, these videos are flooding Chinese social media in response to criticism of the Uighur concentration camps. Unfortunately, most Chinese are heavily influenced by what they see in their propagandistic Chinese social media and news. What would you say to the average Han Chinese person who thinks that these camps are not that bad and are reasonable responses to terrorism?

There are 10+ million Uyghurs in the world. A very, very, very small number of them were involved in a few terrorist attacks - less than a few hundred people. Detaining 3 million Muslims is an insanely outsized response to something like that, and has no place in the modern world.

If someone got food poisoning from an apple once or twice and then proceeded to burn down every apple orchard on earth, bulldoze cider mills, and ban pie... would you call them a reasonable person? This is the logic that the Chinese government (among others) is selling it's people, and it is the logic of hate.

This might come off as naive but if you denounce your religion will they let you go ? If you can provide you have abandoned your faith is the rehabilitation over?

Thank you for that questions. Unfortunately, majority of the people are not being released. A document quoted the party secretary Chen Quango on detention centers stating the camps should "teach like a school, be managed like the military and be defended like a prison" and “must first break their lineage, break their roots, break their connections and break their origins.” These chilling words stated in an internal document, reported by the media to the public, only touch on Beijing’s harsh policies towards the Uyghurs. The situation is getting worse as the Chinese government continues to get away with their inhumane practices in front of the world community.

The persecution against the Uyghurs is racially motivated. The PRC’s strategy of building a new Silk Road with the Belt and Road initiative is causing destruction in our homeland and populating massive concentration camps. China’s campaign of despotism extends far beyond the horrendous camps. Ubiquitous security like that of George Orwell’s 1984, a massive, high-tech police state, is the cruel reality for the entire region in West China.

Thank you for that answer. Honestly, I feel guilty for nothing being able to do anything and in someway I feel complicit due to my inaction. I may not agree with religion but subjecting humans to such abhorrent treatment is a crime against humanity.

Why haven’t Muslim countries from the Gulf/Middle East come to their rescue?

How? We have no military power, we are not close geographically, we aren’t a global economic superpower, and any action taken by the middle east is bound to be labelled “terrorism” We’re already abiding by the economic sanctions put in place by the US against China, as we are one of the US’s allies. We know what’s happening, it’s horrible, we can’t do anything about it.

Much of the discussion about "why has the Muslim world not done more" ends up being about economics. The world is full of Muslim minority groups that are the targets of repression, but sadly often these groups are already marginalized from mainstream Islamic branches due to their sect or their racial identities. Look at the Rohingya in Bangladesh or the Ahmadiyya muslims in Pakistan.

I would like to ask about boycotts related to China. Generally-- 1) Is it actually possible? Will it make a difference? 2) Are there specific things we should be boycotting? 3) Do you think boycotting is helpful to the Uighurs in East Turkestan? Or would the purpose be to hurt businesses more? Bring attention to the situation? Etc.

Thank you for your time Rushan & your important work. I hope & pray you find your sister soon.

Frequently we get this question! Boycotts have been a major part of previous attempts to fight autocratic governments, and have had a lot of success. There's really two separate things we can boycott - the Chinese government itself, and international companies that do work in Xinjiang.

As far as the Chinese government goes, as said before the Olympics are a big thing that we can target. The Chinese government really does care about how it is perceived internationally, and if a large international movement manages to interfere with their ability to hold international events it's likely that they will respond. Protesting and boycotting any major international events involving china brings attention to the issue.

With regards to specific companies that do business in east turkestan, chinafile recently released a list of major companies working in xinjiang - http://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/features/here-are-fortune-500-companies-doing-business-xinjiang. Boycotting the companies on this list sends a message directly to the companies that we stand against them working with the Chinese government. Boycotting, if it gets to a large enough scale, could be used to directly hurt both the companies doing business in e. turkestan and to bring attention to the issue. All-in-all, it could be a very helpful form of protest to fight back against this nightmare.

In terms of specific products, cotton is probably the biggest one. A large percentage of the cotton manufactured in China is coming from E. Turkestan/XinJiang. This means that any companies using cotton from China are probably supporting the government in the region. Companies that have been proven to be engaged with this include Cottonon, Target, and Costco. Boycotting Chinese cotton is definitely a tangible response that can be taken on an individual level.

Thank you for doing this, and for your courage as a whole. I was wondering if/how China has retaliated against you for speaking out?

They have indeed retaliated against me - the Chinese government kidnapped my sister and put her in one of the camps because of my activism. She was a law abiding citizen who violated none of the laws that the Chinese use to justify their policies in XinJiang. Because of my work fighting against this, she has lost her liberty. As I said below, I honestly do not even know if she's alive.

This is a perfect example of the draconian measures this government is taking to prevent people from speaking out against them.

What are the conditions like in the camps? Have any Uyghurs been executed?

Thanks for your time and good luck!

According to numerous testimonies, inside of the camps, detainees are intensely indoctrinated with Communist Party propaganda, and forced to renounce Islam and forsake their ethnic identity. They are subject to rape and torture, food and sleep deprivations, dehydration. How long a person's body could handle these types of harsh physical abuses, before the internal systems start to break down? Many uyghurs are dying shortly after being released from the camps. China claims that these sprawling camps with barbed wire and armed guard towers are humane job training or vocational training centers. This is a lie. Detainees include medical doctors, academics, businesspeople, and professionals, as well as young children and the elderly, none of whom need job training. Uyghur prisoners have also been dispersed throughout China proper as an attempt to hide the numbers of those who have been detained. The Uyghurs’ economy has been completely destroyed, and the government is distributing Uyghurs wealth and re-allocating their lands to Hans Chinese.

Shit man that's terrible.

But I think you're doing a good job seeing that the world has recently become far more aware of what is happening.

So keep up the good work and all the best.

Thank you! Please support in anyway that you can! www.campaignforuyghurs.org

Hi Rushan! Question - how has the Chinese repression affected you personally? What has happened to your family members in the camps?

Thank you for this question. The camps became ever so personal to me now. Since September 2018, my sister has been detained in the concentration camp in retaliation for my public advocacy. On September 5, 2018, I spoke at one of the thinktanks in Washington DC about the conditions of the camps, outlining the disturbing fate of my in-laws. Six days later, my sister, Gulshan Abbas, and my aunt were abducted. My aunt was released several months later but we have no information on my sister’s whereabouts since her abduction 15 months ago. In the regime’s rhetoric, this concentration camp system is made up of schools for vocational training to overcome what the CCP considers, our backwardness, our illness--The Chinese government considers all Uyghurs and Muslims backwards (the hatred towards the Uyghurs are racially targeted). But surely a person like my sister, a skilled, professional medical doctor, doesn’t need any training. She is a thoughtful, caring, amiable soul, with compassion, who made helping others the most important part of her life. She retired in early age from practicing her profession due to impeding health conditions. She is not an outspoken person. She is an introverted person who was never active in any kind of political activities whatsoever. The only reason for her abduction is “guilt by association” with me – an American who dared to exercise her freedom of speech in the U.S. I am extremely worried for my sister. Thinking about her fate keeps me up all night. I am not sure if she will be able to endure the harsh conditions of the camps for long and survive when she has been facing food and sleep deprivation, dehydration, forced medication, and physical and mental torture for 15 months now. Honestly, I don’t even know if she is alive!

My sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas is not famous; she is not an educator, a writer or a scholar. She has not traveled to any foreign, Muslim-majority country, nor do we have any relatives living in those countries. She speaks Mandarin Chinese fluently, and has never engaged in political or religious activities. I say this because Uyghurs are often targeted when they travel to Muslim countries or if they communicate with anyone in those countries (under the suspicion of “collusion” with “terrorists” or “radicalized Muslims”) or if they cannot speak Mandarin (which is seen by the Chinese government as a sign of either of ignorant backwardness or nationalist rebellion).

Yet, my sister languishes in one of the camps, since September 2018. Unfortunately, her story is far from unique. China harasses Uyghurs in the diaspora, with relatives back home, presenting them with an impossible choice: keep silent about the horrific abuses, or let your friends and family suffer the consequences for your choice to speak out. I am choosing to speak out, and so should all of you, against China's crimes against humanity!

We are praying for you

Yesterday I signed a petition online for the trapped Muslims in China. Does signing that help to change anything? That's all I could do to help..

Thank you so much for your kind words and help. Yes, signing petitions, raising awareness and calling your representatives, ask them to support Uyghur Human Rights Policy Bill, push forward the Global Magnitsky Act against the Chinese officially who are responsible for this atrocity, would help.

Hey Rushan - Thank you so much for your heroism. I can honestly say that most of the US, right and left, believe what is happening to the Uyghur people is horrific.

I have one major question - What do the Chinese people think of what is happening to the Uyghur people? Is it like a Nazi Germany where citizens were almost brainwashed into hatred? Or something else?

Thank you again :)

Thank you for your comments. It is like the history is repeating itself again--You are absolutely correct on most of the Chinese people are being brainwashed as it was during the Nazi Germany where citizens were almost brainwashed into hatred. Because of the information blockade and false narratives and disinformation by the Chinese government propaganda machines, most of the Chinese people inside of the China believes that Uyghurs are terrorists and Muslims are backward uncivilized people and developed hatred toward the general Uyghur public. But, what disappoints me is that the Han Chinese people in the free world such as Chinese people are attacking me on social media from America, Europe and other parts of the world that has access to the free media, still hate Uyghurs. I am receiving death threats from Chinese people, after posting or commenting on social media. I am not surprise, if I start to receive attacks here as well very soon. But back then, during the Nazi Germany times, access to information was slow, and they easily hid behind claims of ignorance. It is the 21st century. Ignorance is not an excuse anymore.

Good afternoon - I was wondering what it would take for China to close the camps. Even in the last couple days, China has claimed that it has released all detainees, but it doesn't seem like much has changed. What will change the situation so much that China will be forced to close the camps, release Uyghurs and others, and even improve the situation in Xinjiang? What happens after the camps are closed? Thanks for taking time to answer questions!

Thank you. That is a very good question. What would take for China to close the camps, while it is using economic and political pressures to silencing the international criticism on it is blatant human rights abuses on our watch today? Between trade threats, the power of the Belt and Road Initiative, debt trap diplomacy and manipulation within the U.N., the PRC has become a power able to strong arm the world. The Chinese regime is bribing and leveraging key politicians, decision makers, the media, influential scholars, and important businessmen around the world. With that, China has successfully silenced international criticism of its shameful human rights record. For the second time in the past 6 months, China has claimed that it has released the detainees from the camps. But, still, there is no info on our loved ones. Where are they then if they were released? Why can't we get any information on our family members? Currently, there are enough evidence and news reports that China is turning some of the camps to forced labor facilities and making innocent Uyghurs to become modern-day slaves.

Not only China is getting away with genocide but also, China is getting ‘rewarded’ today, with hosting Winter Olympics 2022 and 2021 FIFA Club World Cup.

The International Olympic Committee must safeguard the core values the Olympics have been built upon. The Olympics is a unique international event. It is not about trade or politics. It’s not about which country has the most power or the most money – it’s about people coming together to celebrate their differences. A country that has banned cultural identity and language, and erected hundreds and thousands of concentration camps to jail 3 million people from an ethnic group because of hatred and racial discrimination, does not respect these values. With over 400 pages of documented evidence, the country conducting today’s largest human rights violations shouldn’t be hosting games that are meant to celebrate our differences in the world and unite us together.

Will we be able to upheld the vow “NEVER AGAIN” with real actions to follow or shall we sadly witness a repeat of the 1938 Munich Pact as countries around the world avoided acknowledging Nazi Germany’s human rights abuses for the sake of economic trade, at the cost of millions of lives? But back then, access to information was slow, and they easily hid behind claims of ignorance. It is the 21st century. Ignorance is not an excuse anymore. The fate of the freedom and democracy of our world is at stake here.

Thanks so much for your activism on this issue, and I'm sorry to hear about what your friends and family are going through.

As a person in the US, it's often difficult to get nuanced, quality information about this issue. What caused the crackdown on China's part, and what would you like us outside Asia to know about Uyghers?

Thank you for your question.

The Uyghurs are an ethnically and culturally Turkic Muslims. Since Mao Zedong’s occupation of East Turkistan after the establishment of the People's Republic of China on 1949, which is currently called Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the communist regime has tried relentlessly to destroy Uyghur culture and religion. Uyghur culture and religion are under constant attack. Following the 9-11 tragedy, Communist authorities using “War on Terrorism”, criminalized the entire nation based on their ethnic identity. China has characterized all political resistance as “Islamic terrorism,” and on that pretext developed a police state. The Government forcefully collected DNA from everyone, ubiquitous cameras and facial-recognition software have been installed everywhere and GPS tracking devices have been placed on every vehicle. Uyghur homes are assigned QR Codes to monitor residents’ activities. The Chinese government admitted in the party's newspaper to deploying more than a million Chinese government officials to live in Uyghur homes to act as their supervisors and sleep in the same bedding area with the Uyghur women left behind when their husbands are taken to the camps. Uyghur language education is banned.

In our homeland, for the Uyghur people, their ethnic identity and religion are being treated as ideological mental disease. Hundreds of internment camps dotting the region hold an estimated 3 million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in arbitrary detention to undergo ‘thought transformation’. The centers are designed to force detainees to pledge allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party, renounce religious beliefs, discontinue the use of their mother language, and abandon their way of life. A document quoted the party secretary Chen Quango on detention centers stating the camps should "teach like a school, be managed like the military and be defended like a prison" and “must first break their lineage, break their roots, break their connections and break their origins.” These chilling words stated in an internal document, reported by the media to the public, only touch on Beijing’s harsh policies towards the Uyghurs. The situation is getting worse as the Chinese government continues to get away with their inhumane practices in front of the world community.

The persecution against the Uyghurs is racially motivated. The PRC’s strategy of building a new Silk Road with the Belt and Road initiative is causing destruction in our homeland and populating massive concentration camps. China’s campaign of despotism extends far beyond the horrendous camps. Ubiquitous security like that of George Orwell’s 1984, a massive, high-tech police state, is the cruel reality for the entire region in West China. According to numerous testimonies, inside of the camps, detainees are intensely indoctrinated with Communist Party propaganda, and forced to renounce Islam. They are subject to rape and torture. China claims that these sprawling camps with barbed wire and armed guard towers are humane job training or vocational training centers. This is a lie. Detainees include medical doctors, academics, businesspeople, and professionals, as well as young children and the elderly, none of whom need job training. The Uyghurs’ economy has been completely destroyed, and the government is distributing Uyghurs’ wealth and re-allocating their lands to Han Chinese.

I'm not going to give you soft-ball pitches that basically just provide a platform to claim things everyone already believes here. Or pandering with "how can I help you". I have some real questions for you.

What would you say to people who argue that putting 1 in 11 Uyghers into concentration camps is not a genocide?

How do you reconcile the difference between how China has mosques in nearly every city, 39,000 in total, and respects the religious rights of millions of Muslims in China, 1.3% of their total population, compared to the claim they are attempting to "eradicate" the culture?

Do you acknowledge the numerous terrorist attacks and riots committed by Uyghers that China uses as justification for the camps? Or do you believe these attacks to be false and/or mischaracterized by China?

Do you believe there are active terrorist organizations operating within Xinjiang? Or do you believe that the UN and the Hague are incorrect?

Edit: I see they edited in - "there have never been any terrorist organizations in Xinjiang" - well there you have it, folks. Either you trust the United Nations and The Hague Anti-terrorism specialists, or you trust an activist.

Great! We love hard-hitting questions.

1) First of all, the numbers may be higher than that. But even IF that ratio is correct, outside of the camps the infrastructure of repression continues to exist. The colossal number of checkpoints, security cameras, and police officers points towards this. Some have argued that the Chinese government has essentially turned all of XinJiang into a giant prison, at least if you are uyghur. All the Uyghurs in China are in camps, some are just bigger than others!

2) Chinese Mosques in other areas are often tourist attractions, with much of the religiosity removed. Beyond that, there is evidence of Chinese repression across the entire nation and of mass targeting of all religious groups. It's clear though that this is happening on a much larger, more intense scale in XinJiang. The Chinese aren't just targeting muslims, they are targeting Central Asian Muslims in Xinjiang - who are mostly Uyghurs. I've explained why in other posts.

3) These "terror" attacks and riots did happen, we don't deny that. Civil strife of that sort is common where oppressive colonial regimes purposefully crush dissent underfoot, look at what is happening in Hong Kong. As I said elsewhere -

There are 10+ million Uyghurs in the world. A very, very, very small number of them were involved in a few terrorist attacks - less than a few hundred people. Detaining 3 million Muslims is an insanely outsized response to something like that, and has no place in the modern world.

If someone got food poisoning from an apple once or twice and then proceeded to burn down every apple orchard on earth, bulldoze cider mills, and ban pie... would you call them a reasonable person? This is the logic that the Chinese government (among others) is selling it's people, and it is the logic of hate.

4) There are no terrorist organizations within Xinjiang to my knowledge. Any sort of protests to the harsh policies is viewed as terrorist acts. Just look at Hong Kong today and you'll see what has happened in our homeland--Chinese government calls Hong Kong protests as a terrorist act. The continued rumors and allegations are misinformation being supported by Chinese propaganda and long-outdated stories.

*Edit - there have never been any terrorist organizations in Xinjiang

I saw in a previous comment that your Aunt has been released from an Internment camp. Is there anyway We could get a first hand testimony, from her, about her time inside?

In order to protect my family, I do not communicate with them. I heard from my distant relatives in Europe that I heard she was abducted on same day that my sister was taken although they live about 1,400km away from each other--my sister lives in Urumchi and my aunt lives in Atush (a city near Kashkar). Speaking to her while she is in that complete surveillance police state will endangers her again.

Your title makes it sound that you actually survived one of these camps yourself; but from what I read in your post you yourself have never been. Still you talk about rape and torture which are very serious allegations.

What actual proof can you provide for these claims?

As an Uyghur who have experienced oppression and discrimination by the Chinese communist regime, while I was living in the region, just because I'm an Uyghur, someone being treated as a secondary citizen in my own homeland, sure I qualify as an survivor--thank you for pointing that out. There are many former inmates that I am meeting and speaking with, and according to them the Uyghur girls are facing rape and all inmates are facing torture.

What are your thought on everything going on in Hong Kong? Is there a sense of "What about us?" with the world spotlight going to Hong Kong?

There is an enormous amount of solidarity between our two groups. We are all suffering from the same oppressive "communist" regime, and the Chinese government is using the same tactics both in our homeland and in Hong Kong. Uyghur organizations and FreeHK organizations collaborate together frequently - only by working together can we overcome the challenges facing us. We also closely collaborate with the Tibetans and with other repressed minorities within China.

In many of the HK protests, they carry banners with slogans saying things like "Don't let Hong Kong become another XinJiang." Phrases like this show how aware the Hong Kongers are of our plight and how urgent the problem is for those who can see it.

What is it like in these camps?

According to the former inmates, the conditions of the camps are extremely bad. I just answered some one's question above in regards to the conditions of the camps. Please read that. There are credible reports detailing atrocious tales of torture and death in the camps. The conditions are so intolerably bad that Qeyser Keyyum, a brother of my high school classmate who was the chief editor for a literature magazine committed suicide by jumping from an 8th floor window when he received the order for his arrest and detention. Among the disappearances of many Uyghur public figures, intellectuals and academics, Rahile Dawut and Kuresh Tahir are expats from Indiana University, returned home after graduating. Uyghur academics are under major attack, whether they are traveling abroad legally, publishing textbooks or literature with the government’s permission, or simply just guilty of not being Han Chinese. Reporting on the detailed real situation is hindered by an information blockade by the communist state. Now, according to the reports by Radio Free Asia the government has requisitioned the railways to move large numbers of Uyghur detainees to other parts of China. Washington Post said previously, “The world is watching as ‘the Ethnic cleansing makes a comeback — in China’.

Do you have a link to these reports? Are any of them public? I hope you understand, I am not trying to deny your story, I want to have a better insight into this topic.

Sure, thanks for asking. Please see below:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/ethnic-cleansing-makes-a-comeback--in-china/2018/08/02/55f73fa2-9691-11e8-810c-5fa705927d54_story.html

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/camps-01262018140920.html

https://bitterwinter.org/uyghur-dispersion-and-detention-worse-than-we-thought/

Are you in danger of reprisal from the state?

Yes, the Chinese government retaliates anyone who speaks against the communist regime and threatens them anywhere.

Question:

1. I dont see any verifiable proof of who you are, or what you are going through, but that doesnt seem to bother so many, who just do q/a with you regardless. The IMGur link is broken, and that other stuff could have been published by anyone.

2. When in concentration camps, how long are you able to use social media? A few hours a day, or less? Edit: ah, I see that say your "friends, family" are in camps. You are merely... in NYC, working with some locals... on this issue.

3. Why do you think the US is a good place to reach out for support? Have you seen what he Trump administration does to muslim immigrants when they try for asylum here? What makes you think reaching out to a country that has its OWN camps, right now, which are leading to deaths, rape, separation of children from families, slave labor, etc, makes sense? You understand that the US would hurt your people, too?

Why would america be the place to go for help with this, when we behave just like what you accuse the chinese of today? Do you understand how the capitalist government of the US and other western countries will work tirelessly to support any enemies of china/denounce any allies of china, as a matter of principal? Have you thought about any of this?

1. I am an Uyghur American living in the US. I am not in the camps. It is my sister Dr. Gulshan Abbas is in there since September 2018 as a retaliation by the Chinese gov. for my activism as an American in America under my constitutional rights.
   
2. Concentration camps people are trying to survive under intense indoctranation and torture. They don't have access to phone or social media.
3. I am reaching out to anyone who cares for humanity and basic survival rights. Anyone who pledged the vow "Never Again" against a race and religion.
   

Above all, it is about basic human dignity and survival rights that God give us which I am advocating and fighting for... Thanks for your comments.

Can you think of any reason that the Chinese are using to justify this behaviour? For example, have there been mass murders, terrorism etc? Or is this just a knee jerk authoritarian communist state just doing what it does?

The Chinese Government claims these policies are meant to tackle what it calls “religious extremism” and coincides with “War on terrorism”. On that pretext, the entire region is branded. Today the people of East Turkistan have become the victims of Xi Jinping’s signature project for the world domination, the Belt and Road initiative. In fact, not only is the normal practice of Islam targeted, but also being Uyghur and acting within the norms of our culture, use of our language, and our ethnic identity, is under attack. Uyghurs in the publics’ eye, and those with a voice, have been silenced. The Chinese government is systematically targeting Uyghur elites with the purpose of completely eliminating anyone who might produce, extend or defend Uyghur ideology and values. To eradicate the Uyghurs and our cultural identity and reshape the land to aid China in reaching its economic and political goals, Chinese officials have defamed Uyghurs as terrorists and extremists.

Many of us remember the era of communism vaguely. But for China, the communist ideal is brought back to life with Xi Jinping. And it is backed up by China’s enormous economy. Communism means stamping out freedom of expression and freedom of thought. It means suppressing freedom of speech and belief. Above all, it means imposing the official state ideology upon everyone, and persecuting those who might think or believe differently. Original thought and religious beliefs are a danger to the Chinese Communist regime. Now, this totalitarian ideology has returned to the world in full force.

How many concentration camps do you estimate there are in China? I’ve seen reports that it’s up to 3M.

The number of actual camps is much lower than that, but 3 million is the current estimate for the number of people in the camps. This estimate is verified by the US government and by other human rights watchdog organizations.

First of all, love what you're doing: keep fighting the good fight!

Do you think that educating the masses on this issue will be enough to force nations into boycotting China/ stepping in given that so many countries are 'reliant' on Chinese trade?

Thank you for your comments. Educating the general public, raising awareness among the grassroots organizations are some of the activities that I am doing currently. It is important for each person to take actions and protect the basic human rights and dignity that they worked so hard and enjoy in the wetern democratic countries as China's current attack is not only against the Uyghurs but it is against the rule of laws and fondimental freedom of western domocracy and values. The first Nazi Germany's concentration camps were built in 1933 while the country was still trading with other democratic countries. The first Uyghur camp was built in 2014 under the strike hard campaign against the innocent Uyghurs. Most of the economically independent or rich countries, they continued to do business with Germany during 1933s, they enabled Germany’s economy to murder more people. For example, Great Britain – they continued to do business with Nazi Germany at that time – then, what happened? They were then faced with the bombers flying over London. That’s exactly the same thing happening right now. Continuing to do business with China is enabling China’s economy to be the threat to the world community. its democracy and values are under attack now.

Continuing to do business with China is enabling China to murder my people that is complicit with genocide!

Freedom is not free – any kind of doing the right thing comes with a price. Yes, there might be some economic burden, but when it comes down to what is right, and when it comes down to the basic rights of human beings that is endangered right now. It is the future of our world at stake here. Just loook at the Uyghur people right now and imagine the world without basic fondimental rights for people...

How does the average Han Chinese person feel towards the Uyghurs?

If they are not being brainwashed and know the truth, they are symphatatic. I had Chinese people coming to me after I gave my public speeches and apologized for Chinese government treating our people so badly. There is a Chinese women in Chicago University came to me and said "China will go down to the history with this evilness and brutality that it is committing against your people..." But, there are also some Chinese trolls on the social media that attacks me all the time and also called for "death" to me, when they are being brainwashed and have racial hatred toward the Uyghur people.

Why do u think china is so anti religious?

The individual freedom to choose ‒ to choose what we believe, how we believe, and why we believe ‒ is one of the major achievements of the modern world. It defines our sense of liberty, of the freedom of conscience that we all take for granted. Yet now this foundation of our freedom is coming under attack. This disturbing trend is clearly visible in the persecution of the Uyghurs and what is happening in Hong Kong today.

The persecution of the Uyghurs by the Chinese communist regime is only one part of a rising tide of intolerance that is rapidly covering the world. Our struggle should be the concern of everyone who values the basic human rights of dignity, respect, and freedom of belief for all people. These rights are a fundamental part of the human legacy, our legacy, that is increasingly under attack from a new totalitarian threat, which is the return of communism through China’s rise to power. It is becoming increasingly clear that the future will once again be decided by a competition between these two opposing political ideals—Democracy and Freedom vs. totalitarian Communism!

On July 10th a joint statement signed by 22, mostly western democratic countries issued to the UN condemned China’s so-called “Uyghur Detention Centers”. As a response 37 countries signed a letter to express their support for China’s treatment of the Uyghur Muslims. Those 37 countries supporting China’s genocide, later increased from 37 to 50. What if the countries supporting Communist China are 100 or 150? Will someone still stand for what is right? China is spreading its communist totalitarian ideologies and it’s influences around the world. This threatens democracy, freedom, and our national interest. This threatens all of us. This challenges everything we have worked for in the past 100 years!

What I am describing here today, isn’t just about Uyghurs, nor systematic human rights abuse. It is crimes against humanity and civilization; It is about integrity; It is about western democracy and values. Collectively punishing people with fascistic atrocities and ethnic genocide. Such a horrific, repugnant catastrophe should have no place in the twenty-first century, on our watch. As a Member of the European Parliament Ignazio Corrao from Italy said a year ago, “Concentration camps are back, there are no other words to describe what is happening in Xinjiang… Colleagues, what else do we have to witness before taking concrete actions? Gas chambers? Mass executions?”

Simple question... why stay in China? Why subject yourselves and your families to what you say are obvious atrocities. Why not get your loved ones out before they get raped and murdered?

Can't get them out. My sister's passport was cancelled in December 2016 shortly after she returned to Urumchi after visiting her two daughters in the US. She went back on August 2016. Right before the situation detorirated rapidly on April 2017, the government cancelled most of the Uyghurs passports first.

Do you have any proof fo the so called camps?

Also how much are US NGOs paying you?

One of the Chinese grad student Shawn Zhang was also skeptical about the camps as you are, and did his own opensource research. He came up with most of the satellite images of the camps as proofs. I have been outspoken about this atrocity while I was having a full time job. But, on September 05, 2019, as the anniversary date of my first public speaking which caused my sister's freedom, I became a full time activist. Currently, NED granted my application and my salary if about 2/3 of what I was making previously with a full time job because, I need to pay my mortgage and survive while I am advocating for this human rights atrocity of the century. any other questions?

I must say, even if 1/100th of what I am saying about the Uyghurs is true (and it is all true, trust me)... wouldn't it still be horrifying enough that we should take steps to stop this from happening?

What sort of useful life-skills are they learning in the concentration camps?

Thanks for your question. What do you think people like University presidents, professors, businessmen, shop owners, medical doctors, writers, ports, philanthophists, pop-stars, comedians, athletes, and many intellectuals need as useful life-skills? They are being used as slaves in the name of "vocational training centers". With those camps, the PRC has managed to kill four birds with one stone:

1. Forcing millions of Uyghurs into slavery, forcing them to work on production.

2. Dislocating Uyghurs’ from their homes, neighborhoods and towns, to reallocate Han Chinese settlers and open the land for the Belt and Road Initiative.

3. Jailing Uyghur men in camps and prisons and forcing unwed and abandoned Uyghur women into arranged marriages with Non-Muslim Han Chinese men with government gratifications such as money, housing and jobs. Leaving neither the girls nor their families able to decline in fear of repercussion.

4. And lastly Orchestrating Organ farms, where millions are forced to undergo DNA tests and prepped for slaughter. The human rights organizations in the world need to pay attention to and take the lead against the PRC’s Organ Slavery trade practices.