Over treatment of the Uighur ethnic minority

How will this showdown go down?

This is China Uncensored.

I'm Chris Chappell.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

for the latest China news,

and click the notification bell

so you get an alert each time

we publish a new episode.

The Uighurs.

They're the dominant ethnic minority

in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China.

That's its official name because it's totally autonomous.

You know, other than the massive state security apparatus

the Chinese Communist Party has installed in Xinjiang.

“The security here is incredibly tight.

There are armored cars on the streets.

Police stations on every corner.

And tons of surveillance cameras.

In the past year, police have stepped up security.

The region is now under probably the most

intense government surveillance in the world.”

Not to mention the government workers literally

being sent into people's homes to spy on them.

I mean who doesn't like being watched 24/7

with the threat of detention

hanging over your head at all times?

I can't imagine why any Uighurs

would want independence from China.

For years, the Chinese Communist Party

has targeted the Uighurs.

They're a mostly Turkic Muslim group,

so the Party justifies it as a crackdown on terrorists.

And it is true some Uighurs from Xinjiang

have joined terrorist groups like ISIS.

But authorities have detained

more than a million Uighurs in concentration camps.

So that makes you wonder,

do Chinese authorities think all Uighurs are terrorists?

Well, that would be taking it too far.

Chinese authorities clearly don't think

all Uighurs are terrorists.

For instance,

Uighur women make great wife material.

...since you know, there's about 30 million

more men than women in China.

It's because of the extremely well-thought-out

One Child Policy that resulted in the abortions

of tens of millions of unborn girls.

Now, many Western countries have spoken out

against the persecution of Uighurs.

Including the Trump Administration.

Because when you think 'defending Muslims,'

you think Donald Trump.

And Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

said just last week that she spoke with

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about

doing more to help the Uighurs.

More proof of how the Chinese Communist Party

is bringing Democrats and Republicans together.

It's heartwarming, really.

But in the upside down world we live in,

Muslim countries by and large have remained silent

about the Chinese regime's treatment of Muslims.

Does that have anything to do with the billions of dollars

China is investing in these countries?

I'm not saying it's about money.

But I'm not *not* saying it's not not about money.

Think about *that.*

But the Muslim world's silence

on the Chinese regime's persecution of Muslims

has started to change.

And it has started with

one of the most unlikely countries:

Turkey.

Because when you think

'standing up to authoritarian persecution,'

you think Turkish dictator President Erdoğan.

Turkey has become the first predominantly Muslim country

to directly criticize the Chinese regime on the issue.

This statement is a from the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

It specifically calls out the “serious human rights violations

committed in the Xinjiang region.”

The statement was made despite a recent 3.6 billion dollar loan

from a Chinese state-owned bank.

The statement also grieved the death of

a famous Uighur musician and poet, Abdurehim Heyit.

He's been detained in China since 2017.

Heyit is incredibly popular in the Turkic world for his art.

So, what was the Chinese regime's response?

The report of his death was greatly exaggerated.

China released this video,

supposedly of Heyit saying, “Hey I'm fine!”

“My name is Abdurehim Heyit.

Today is February 10, 2019.

I'm in the process of being investigated

for allegedly violating the national laws.

I'm now in good health and have never been abused.”

Ohhh, well that was a bit of a snafu.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry was quick to gloat.

“Turkey's ridiculous lie of describing

a person who is alive as a dead person

and its groundless accusations

are terribly wrong and irresponsible.

We express resolute opposition to this.”

Yeah, how dare Turkey call someone dead

when that person is obviously alive

but held incommunicado with his whereabouts unknown!

Although, if a government has to release

a “proof of life” video

to prove that they haven't killed someone,

that's not a good look.

It's more of a kidnapper look.

But let's go back to why Turkey messed up!

Because obviously if that specific fact was wrong,

then entire argument that China is persecuting Uighurs

must be false too!

At least according to this statement

from the Chinese embassy in Turkey.

“The allegations that the Chinese government

is trying to 'eliminate' the ethnic,

religious and cultural identity of the Uighurs

and other Muslim groups are completely untenable.”

So please, stop looking into any alleged stories of torture.

Like this one.

But it was a short-lived victory for the Chinese regime.

Because you know what the response

from Uighurs around the world has been?

Well, if the Chinese authorities are willing to release

a video of one Uighur as proof he was alive,

why not release one for every Uighur in detention?

They started the #MeTooUyghur movement,

demanding video proof that their

detained friends and relatives are alive.

A Uighur Me Too Movement.

Look, you know,

not all Chinese people imprison Uighurs.

In fact, some Uighurs even fake it!

Some Uighurs just accidentally fell down the stairs...

into concentration camps,

while in the process,

dropping their children...into...

far-away Chinese boarding schools

where they're forbidden to speak their native language.

Look, what I'm trying to say is,

stairs are dangerous and stop asking questions.

So what does this mean for Turkey's relationship with China?

Turkey hasn't officially responded

since China released the video they say is Heyit.

But according to the Mercator Institute for China Studies,

Turkey is too important for China

as an access point to the Middle East.

So the long-term blowback will probably be small.

And before we go,

now is the time when I answer questions from you,

my loyal 50-cent army—

fans of the show who support what we do

through the crowd funding website Patreon.

David Michael White asks,

“Chris, in your opinion,

what's the greatest love story in Chinese literature?”

Oh well, I'm sure the right answer is probably

the characters from Dream of Red Chamber,

one of the four classics of Chinese literature.

It involves two star-crossed lovers bound together

by a tragic karmic relationship.

And let me just say,

what I just said makes it sound

way more interesting that it actually is.

Now I know I'm going to get some blowback for this,

because Dream of Red Chamber

is beloved by Chinese people everywhere,

but it must lose something in translation

because seriously,

it's 3,000 pages divided into five volumes,

and in one of them,

literally the biggest plot point is...

the characters form a poetry club.

Yeah, that's the main thing that happens.

Like, honestly I would say the relationship

between the Monkey King and the Tang Monk

in Journey to the West is a better romance.

Or maybe the bromance of the three brothers

in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

In fact, yeah,

that's what I'm going to say as my answer.

The Three Sworn Brothers,

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei,

who swore to die on the same day,

is the greatest love story in Chinese literature.

But it's not romantic love.

It's a bromantic love.

Now that classic is incredible.

What's that, Shelley?

What about the Butterfly Lovers

or the Cowherd and Weaver Girl?

Nah, still going to go with

the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

It's right there in the name!

Thanks for your question,

David Michael White.

If you'd like to hear your question answered on the show,

sign up to support China Uncensored

on the crowd funding website Patreon.

It's less than the cost of your daily cup of coffee.

Thanks for watching this episode of China Uncensored.

Once again I'm Chris Chappell,

see you next time!