Some articles from mainstream publications that acknowledge that the repression in Xinjiang did not reach the level of genocide and also provide pushback against the US State Department narrative:
Gareth Porter and Max Blumenthal provided in-depth coverage of Xinjiang policies and refuted atrocity propaganda from the far-right ideologue Adrian Zenz. Ajit Singh also exposed how the Newlines Institute report relied upon the discredited work of the religious extremist Adrian Zenz (who claimed to be "led by God" against China), the US government propaganda outlet, Radio Free Asia, right-wing US government/NED-funded groups like the World Uyghur Congress, and a collection of right-wing neoconservative regime change activists that include figures like David Kilgour and David Matas, who have ties to the far-right, anti-China Falun Gong cult. The Qiao Collective has an ongoing extensive overview of events and coverage of Xinjiang. Economist Asatar Bair also analyzed Western claims of repression in Xinjiang in a number of detailed threads:
Another common source of Xinjiang atrocity propaganda is the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), which is an organization founded by the Australian government and is funded by the US State Department, the Australian Department of Defense, NATO, and military contractors like Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. ASPI also continues to collaborate with the far-right Israeli Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA), which is notoriously Islamophobic.
There is clearly a crack down on basically anything associated with recent foreign far-right Salafi influence linked to terrorist organizations like the Turkistan Islamic Party/ETIM. This even extends to restrictions against ultra-conservative Salafi customs like burqas, niqab, and full-face veils that are not part of traditional Uyghur culture or Islamic practices. Uyghurs in Xinjiang overwhelmingly practice a moderate form of Sufism and traditionally do not even observe hijab. These types of restrictions against Salafi/Wahhabi practices have also been seen in many Muslim countries including Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Chad, Senegal, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Imo some of these restrictions and counter-terrorism policies can get repressive and draconian. The more religious aspects of Uyghur society could still be potentially marginalized as a consequence of heavy-handed enforcement of “anti-extremism” measures. The CPC may also potentially face some blowback if they continue to get too overzealous in their counter-terrorism measures (mass surveillance, excessive security check points, and sloppy profiling where they may end up with false positives in re-education/deradicalization centers). So far, there have been no terrorist attacks since 2017.
Some articles from mainstream publications that acknowledge that the repression in Xinjiang did not reach the level of genocide and also provide pushback against the US State Department narrative:
Gareth Porter and Max Blumenthal provided in-depth coverage of Xinjiang policies and refuted atrocity propaganda from the far-right ideologue Adrian Zenz. Ajit Singh also exposed how the Newlines Institute report relied upon the discredited work of the religious extremist Adrian Zenz (who claimed to be "led by God" against China), the US government propaganda outlet, Radio Free Asia, right-wing US government/NED-funded groups like the World Uyghur Congress, and a collection of right-wing neoconservative regime change activists that include figures like David Kilgour and David Matas, who have ties to the far-right, anti-China Falun Gong cult. The Qiao Collective has an ongoing extensive overview of events and coverage of Xinjiang. Economist Asatar Bair also analyzed Western claims of repression in Xinjiang in a number of detailed threads:
Another common source of Xinjiang atrocity propaganda is the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), which is an organization founded by the Australian government and is funded by the US State Department, the Australian Department of Defense, NATO, and military contractors like Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. ASPI also continues to collaborate with the far-right Israeli Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA), which is notoriously Islamophobic.
There is clearly a crack down on basically anything associated with recent foreign far-right Salafi influence linked to terrorist organizations like the Turkistan Islamic Party/ETIM. This even extends to restrictions against ultra-conservative Salafi customs like burqas, niqab, and full-face veils that are not part of traditional Uyghur culture or Islamic practices. Uyghurs in Xinjiang overwhelmingly practice a moderate form of Sufism and traditionally do not even observe hijab. These types of restrictions against Salafi/Wahhabi practices have also been seen in many Muslim countries including Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Chad, Senegal, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Imo some of these restrictions and counter-terrorism policies can get repressive and draconian. The more religious aspects of Uyghur society could still be potentially marginalized as a consequence of heavy-handed enforcement of “anti-extremism” measures. The CPC may also potentially face some blowback if they continue to get too overzealous in their counter-terrorism measures (mass surveillance, excessive security check points, and sloppy profiling where they may end up with false positives in re-education/deradicalization centers). So far, there have been no terrorist attacks since 2017.
Thank you for writing this out and providing links and sources!