1/13
I want to tell you a story about a place far away and its people about whom you probably don’t know much, but who are suffering. #velshi
I want to tell you a story about a place far away and its people about whom you probably don’t know much, but who are suffering. #velshi
2/13
Xinjiang is China’s largest region by size. It borders Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Russia, Mongolia, and the former majority Muslim states of the Soviet Union. #velshi
Xinjiang is China’s largest region by size. It borders Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Russia, Mongolia, and the former majority Muslim states of the Soviet Union. #velshi
3/13
Of the 25 million people who live in Xinjiang, about 11 million are Turkic, as opposed to the Han Chinese who are the overwhelming majority in China. They are known as Uighurs. #velshi
Of the 25 million people who live in Xinjiang, about 11 million are Turkic, as opposed to the Han Chinese who are the overwhelming majority in China. They are known as Uighurs. #velshi
4/13
Uighurs speak their own language, similar to Turkish. They are, culturally and ethnically, Central Asian, like the people of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. #velshi
Uighurs speak their own language, similar to Turkish. They are, culturally and ethnically, Central Asian, like the people of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. #velshi
5/13
The Uighurs are also mostly Muslim, and the practice of their religion, while one of five permitted in China, is monitored by Chinese public security officials. #velshi
The Uighurs are also mostly Muslim, and the practice of their religion, while one of five permitted in China, is monitored by Chinese public security officials. #velshi
6/13
As is often the case when a country annexes a place, the mass migration of China’s ethnic Han majority over the past 70 yrs. to Xinjiang has changed the region. Uighurs now make up less than half the population & that shift has threatened their livelihoods. #velshi
As is often the case when a country annexes a place, the mass migration of China’s ethnic Han majority over the past 70 yrs. to Xinjiang has changed the region. Uighurs now make up less than half the population & that shift has threatened their livelihoods. #velshi
7/13
According to the Council on Foreign Relations - in 2017, the Chinese imposed a blunt government policy of forcibly assimilating Uighurs into larger Chinese society, under the guise of a counter-terrorism campaign. #velshi
According to the Council on Foreign Relations - in 2017, the Chinese imposed a blunt government policy of forcibly assimilating Uighurs into larger Chinese society, under the guise of a counter-terrorism campaign. #velshi
8/13
They built a network of detention camps, and moved what are believed to be a MILLION Uighurs into them. Some are working for meager pay; some for no pay at all. #velshi
They built a network of detention camps, and moved what are believed to be a MILLION Uighurs into them. Some are working for meager pay; some for no pay at all. #velshi
9/13
The Chinese government long denied the camps existed, until irrefutable evidence emerged. Now, the Chinese say that they are vocational training schools, or boarding schools or re-education centers. #velshi
The Chinese government long denied the camps existed, until irrefutable evidence emerged. Now, the Chinese say that they are vocational training schools, or boarding schools or re-education centers. #velshi
10/13
BBC reports that China is forcing hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other minorities into hard, manual labor in cotton fields. The Chinese response is that the workers are part of a quote “voluntary poverty alleviation” project. That’s not the worst of it. #velshi
BBC reports that China is forcing hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other minorities into hard, manual labor in cotton fields. The Chinese response is that the workers are part of a quote “voluntary poverty alleviation” project. That’s not the worst of it. #velshi
11/13
Those few who have managed to escape the region have reported physical, mental & sexual torture, including rape & sexual abuse & attempts to reduce the Uighur population through mass sterilizations, forced abortions & coercing Uyghurs to marry non-Uyghurs. #velshi
Those few who have managed to escape the region have reported physical, mental & sexual torture, including rape & sexual abuse & attempts to reduce the Uighur population through mass sterilizations, forced abortions & coercing Uyghurs to marry non-Uyghurs. #velshi
12/13
On his last full day as Sec. of State, Mike Pompeo tweeted that China was carrying out genocide against the Uighurs. America’s new Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed, & pressed Beijing on its treatment of Uighurs in the first call between the 2 superpowers. #velshi
On his last full day as Sec. of State, Mike Pompeo tweeted that China was carrying out genocide against the Uighurs. America’s new Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed, & pressed Beijing on its treatment of Uighurs in the first call between the 2 superpowers. #velshi
13/13
As America re-takes its place as a leader among nations, stopping genocide and ethnic cleansing around the world needs to become a priority. #velshi
As America re-takes its place as a leader among nations, stopping genocide and ethnic cleansing around the world needs to become a priority. #velshi
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