Thread by @CarlZha

US politician and Western MSM started new round of campaign accusing China using millions of #Uyghur slaves to work on #Xinjiang cotton "plantations". Reports source none other than Adrian Zenz, originator of million Uyghurs in concentration camp story. A thread debunking Zenz

Adrian Zenz, @VoCommunism “researcher” came out w new report purportedly w evidence of #Uyghur slave labor used to produce cotton in #Xinjiang.

‘Evidence’ 1: because Uyghur majority region in Southern Xinjiang employ local labor!!!

Zenz claims China replacing Han migrant labor in #Xinjiang with local #Uyghur in order to meet its local poverty alleviation program MUST mean Uyghurs are slaves!!!

I am old enough to remember 2014 Reuters report quoting @hrw @bequelin that Han migrant cotton pickers take jobs away frm local #Uyghur, deserve to be bombed at Urumqi train station.

Immediately after April 30th 2014 bombing by Al Qaeda affiliate Turkestan Islamic Party at Urumqi train station that targeted seasonal Han migrant workers coming to #Xinjiang to pick cotton, then @HRW’s @bequelin said the bombing was “powerful symbol” of anti-colonial struggle

By Zenz’s own admission, PRC gov realized that cotton picking jobs were going to Han migrant workers rather than local #Uyghurs and took measure to remedy that. He also provided no evidence for his insinuations internment tied to cotton picking...

Center of Zenz’s claim abt #Uyghur slaves picking cotton on #Xinjiang ‘plantation’ is coercion. However he doesn’t actually provide proof! The quoted Chinese text does NOT mention CCP cadre acting like “security staff”, just “eat, live, study, work” with workers!

Zenz report designed to echo history of slavery on US cotton plantations by using terms like “Plantation owners”. Nvr mind u can’t own land in PRC! All land belongs to the state under Chinese socialism. farmers do own the right to work on allotted land that can pass down family