How I survived a Chinese 're-education' camp for Uighurs
www.theguardian.com
The long read: After 10 years living in France, I returned to China to sign some papers and I was locked up. For the next two years, I was systematically dehumanised, humiliated and brainwashed

a completely unsourced rant, from the same people that peddled the 'Iraq has WMD's' bullshit.

Some names have been changed.

Was Adrien Zenz one of them?

    • spectre [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Yeah I mostly agree, but I don't think that leaves any of them above criticism. A "necessary evil" is still evil.

      Of course we need to contextualize our criticisms properly, and also be conscious of the company in which we level such criticisms lest we serve as aids to imperial interest.

      • dukeofprunes [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        I genuinely can't think of a better way than 're-education', as long as the conditions are good and it's done respectfully. Which from what I have seen and heard is how China is going about it, the things described in this article are obviously bad but then there's no proof that they actually happened and it's not beyond the realms of possibility or precedent that they would be invented to further western anti-china narratives.

        • abdul [none/use name]
          ·
          4 years ago

          To be clear, you can’t think of a better solution to the prospect of extremism than to inter every single person with a beard or a Muslim family member into forced labor camps? Because that’s what they are doing and the official criteria China claims to use is purposefully vague to the point of being useless.

          • dukeofprunes [he/him]
            ·
            4 years ago

            source for the beard thing?

            also pretty sure the forced labour thing is a zenz creation

            this is worth a read, a breakdown of when BBC visited these centres (but from an opposing point of view to BBCs bias) - https://medium.com/@sunfeiyang/breaking-down-the-bbcs-visit-to-hotan-xinjiang-e284934a7aab

            also this is a pretty good watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oKvulTU8oU&feature=youtu.be - a socially awkard man on holiday in xinjiang, observe the uighurs in their natural habitat, dancing in nightclubs and going out for ice cream and shit, better standard of life than i've got here in the uk that's for sure.

            • abdul [none/use name]
              ·
              4 years ago

              https://cpiml.net/liberation/2020/08/chinas-concentration-camps-for-uyghurs-in-chinas-own-words

              there is no clarity on how the law distinguishes spreading religious faith from “spreading religious extremism.” If a religious preacher advocates abstaining from alcohol, for example, is he spreading faith or extremism? If an Uyghur person speaks about Han Chinese majoritarian domination, or imposition of the Mandarin language, is he or she guilty of “undermining ethnic unity” or “disturbing the social order”? If an Uyghur person wears a beard, or observe a fast during Ramzan, are they hindering “implementation of the country’s cultural systems”?

              I’d encourage you to read the link in its entirety. It’s China’s own words.

              • dukeofprunes [he/him]
                ·
                4 years ago

                definitely food for thought, though i'm not sure i fully agree with some of their conclusions, would need to read the white paper for myself and i'm meant to be working right now...

                • abdul [none/use name]
                  ·
                  4 years ago

                  Didn’t think I needed to mention it was in English, but yes, great call out. Read the parts that discuss documents and statements release directly from China.