Event: What's Happening to the Uyghurs in China?
In the Chinese region of Xinjiang, tens of thousands of ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities have been detained inside enormous extrajudicial ‘re-education camps’.
China claims the region faces a serious threat from Islamist militants and separatists, stirring up tensions between the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority and the ethnic Han majority. After months of denial, the Chinese government now claims these camps are benign vocational training centers, but many outside observers assert that they are little more than prisons where detainees are subjected to political and cultural indoctrination without legal recourse.
As more allegations come to light about the treatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, China faces mounting pressure from international human rights groups, governments, and academics to provide access to these camps and put an end to any coercive and illegal practices.
Speaking on Uyghurs in China and how the world should react are:
- Nury A Turkel (Uyghur Human Rights Project)
- James Leibold (Associate Professor, Politics and Philosophy, La Trobe University)
- Louisa Greve (Uyghur Human Rights Project)
- Euan Graham (Executive Director, La Trobe Asia) (chair)
Co-hosted by the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) Victoria, on 7th December 2018.