Arbitrary arrests, forced labor, sterilization, torture. In East Turkestan, also known as Xinjiang, ethnic minorities are subjected to the Chinese regime’s mechanical repression. The objective is to annihilate any cultural and religious particularism, which would be an impediment to the ethnic purity component of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s “Chinese dream” doctrine. “Terrorism” became the keyword and justification for this transnational persecution, which extends not only to countries bordering China, but worldwide.
In this project, journalists Léa Polverini and Robin Tutenges document the internationalization of this repression through a field investigation in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, neighboring countries of China, hosting some of the largest Uyghur diasporas.
While Kyrgyzstan used to be considered one of the most democratic countries in Central Asia, it is now marked by a crackdown on minorities. Burdened by economic dependence on China, the country complies with extradition requests targeting its Uyghur inhabitants and doesn’t raise its voice when its nationals are arrested across the border. Especially in Bishkek, the Uyghur community faces intimidation and politically motivated arrests. A few hundred kilometers away on the Kazakh side, in Almaty, some camp survivors still manage to raise their voices, but not without considerable challenge.
Polverini and Tutenges report on this long history of terrorism’s use for repressive purposes, intertwined with corruption.
