Uyghur Forced Labor
Kurshat Sirajidin, a young Uyghur man. went back to East Turkistan in 2016 to see family. Arrested in July 2021 while working as English teacher in Shanghai.
Uyghur Genocide • leo posted the article • 1 comments • 1157 views • 2023-01-10 13:22
Kurshat Sirajidin, a brilliant young Uyghur man, educated in USA, High school to University, went back to East Turkistan in 2016 to see family. Arrested in July 2021 while working as English teacher in Shanghai. Whereabouts unknown.
view all
view all
Kurshat Sirajidin, a brilliant young Uyghur man, educated in USA, High school to University, went back to East Turkistan in 2016 to see family. Arrested in July 2021 while working as English teacher in Shanghai. Whereabouts unknown.
CECC Annual Report 2022 | AUTHORITIES CONTINUED TO PLACE INDIVIDUALS INTO FORCED LABOR
Human Rights • leo posted the article • 0 comments • 914 views • 2022-11-21 12:56
Full pdf link: https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chi ... 0.pdf
AUTHORITIES CONTINUED TO PLACE INDIVIDUALS INTO FORCED LABOR
According to subsequent research published by Zenz in June 2022, XUAR authorities intensified and institutionalized the place- ment of Turkic Muslims into forced labor situations, likely forcing hundreds of thousands of mass internment camp detainees to work within the XUAR and transferring millions of ‘‘rural surplus labor- ers’’ within and outside of the XUAR. Zenz’s research indicates that authorities increased ‘‘the scope and scale’’ of forced labor transfers in 2021 and published plans to move increasing numbers of rural laborers into industrial work, as well as to train workers in coercive labor programs in higher skilled labor.
GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED FORCED LABOR CONTRAVENES CHINA’S INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS
PRC government-sponsored forced labor contravenes inter- national human rights standards and China’s international obliga- tions. Government-sponsored forced labor programs in the XUAR constitute human trafficking under the Palermo Protocol and a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute. In February 2022, the International Labour Organization (ILO) released the an- nual report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Con- ventions and Recommendations. The Committee expressed its ‘‘. . . deep concern in respect of the policy directions expressed in numerous national and regional policy and regulatory documents . . .’’ with regard to the government’s detention and labor policies among ethnic minorities from the XUAR. The Committee re- quested that the Chinese government review, repeal, and revise its policies in order to serve ethnic minority individuals in the XUAR rather than discriminate against them. According to the report, as a signatory to the ILO’s Discrimination (Employment and Occu- pation) Convention (C111), China is obligated to create a ‘‘. . . na- tional policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment and eliminate discrimination in respect of employment and occupation,’’ and ‘‘. . . to repeal any statutory provisions and modify any admin- istrative instructions or practices which are inconsistent with such policy.’’ In April 2022, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee ratified the ILO’s Forced Labour Convention of 1930 (C029) and Abolition of Forced Labour Convention of 1957 (C105). C029 requires countries to prohibit the use of forced labor and make the use of forced labor ‘‘punishable as a penal offence.’’
Human Trafficking
Countries that ratify C105 are prohibited from using forced labor ‘‘as a means of political coercion or education’’ or ‘‘as a means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination.’’According to a human rights advocate, the PRC’s multiple violations of inter- national human rights standards on forced labor diminished mean- ingful expectations that the government will work in good faith to meet the ILO forced labor conventions. view all
Full pdf link: https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chi ... 0.pdf
AUTHORITIES CONTINUED TO PLACE INDIVIDUALS INTO FORCED LABOR
According to subsequent research published by Zenz in June 2022, XUAR authorities intensified and institutionalized the place- ment of Turkic Muslims into forced labor situations, likely forcing hundreds of thousands of mass internment camp detainees to work within the XUAR and transferring millions of ‘‘rural surplus labor- ers’’ within and outside of the XUAR. Zenz’s research indicates that authorities increased ‘‘the scope and scale’’ of forced labor transfers in 2021 and published plans to move increasing numbers of rural laborers into industrial work, as well as to train workers in coercive labor programs in higher skilled labor.
GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED FORCED LABOR CONTRAVENES CHINA’S INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS
PRC government-sponsored forced labor contravenes inter- national human rights standards and China’s international obliga- tions. Government-sponsored forced labor programs in the XUAR constitute human trafficking under the Palermo Protocol and a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute. In February 2022, the International Labour Organization (ILO) released the an- nual report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Con- ventions and Recommendations. The Committee expressed its ‘‘. . . deep concern in respect of the policy directions expressed in numerous national and regional policy and regulatory documents . . .’’ with regard to the government’s detention and labor policies among ethnic minorities from the XUAR. The Committee re- quested that the Chinese government review, repeal, and revise its policies in order to serve ethnic minority individuals in the XUAR rather than discriminate against them. According to the report, as a signatory to the ILO’s Discrimination (Employment and Occu- pation) Convention (C111), China is obligated to create a ‘‘. . . na- tional policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment and eliminate discrimination in respect of employment and occupation,’’ and ‘‘. . . to repeal any statutory provisions and modify any admin- istrative instructions or practices which are inconsistent with such policy.’’ In April 2022, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee ratified the ILO’s Forced Labour Convention of 1930 (C029) and Abolition of Forced Labour Convention of 1957 (C105). C029 requires countries to prohibit the use of forced labor and make the use of forced labor ‘‘punishable as a penal offence.’’
Human Trafficking
Countries that ratify C105 are prohibited from using forced labor ‘‘as a means of political coercion or education’’ or ‘‘as a means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination.’’According to a human rights advocate, the PRC’s multiple violations of inter- national human rights standards on forced labor diminished mean- ingful expectations that the government will work in good faith to meet the ILO forced labor conventions.
Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps: A Main Tool of Uyghur Oppression
Articles • Dexter posted the article • 0 comments • 826 views • 2022-08-28 23:14
Meet a sinister multi-billion-dollar conglomerate that has its own military force, universities, and jails.
]This original article is from here[/url]
Barracks of a paramilitary unit operated by XPCC. Credits.Beijing’s persecution in Xinjiang is deeply tied in with an organization set up specifically to squeeze out ethnic identities on its westernmost flank.
Shocking proof that the persecution of indigenous Turkic peoples in Xinjiang has been engineered and propelled by an organization specifically set up to squeeze out its indigenous population, has been uncovered by new research.
The extent to which the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), also known as the Bingtuan, originally set up seventy years ago to guard the Western frontiers, has mutated over time to create an “environment of extraordinary terror and oppression” has been laid bare by academics at the Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice.
According to “Until Nothing is Left, China’s Settler Corporation and its Human Rights Violations in the Uyghur Region,” the XPCC, steered by Beijing, but run locally, has evolved to the point whereby even the most intimate moments of Uyghur life are “surveilled, judged, and punished.”
The alarming conclusions of the report found that the small border force set up in 1954 during the Mao era, now functions as an immense multi-billion-dollar conglomerate with thirteen listed companies, and direct and indirect corporate holdings amounting to more than 862,000 entities worldwide.
Originally focused on agriculture and construction, the Bingtuan also now operates corporations in energy, mining, chemicals, oil and gas extraction, logistics, apparel, electronics, wine, food processing, insurance, tourism, and many other sectors. “The goods produced by the XPCC reach far into global supply chains, and XPCC construction projects operate not only in the XUAR but throughout China and across Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa,” note the authors.
Managing one sixth of the region’s total land, one sixth of the region’s total population, and much of its governing structures, the XPCC has its own military force, media networks, and high-quality schools and universities. It runs prisons, distributes and requisitions land, and mobilizes hundreds of thousands of Han from inner China to settle the region, and thereby dilute the indigenous population, building them houses and even cities, and grabbing land from local farmers to do so.
Most troubling, the Bingtuan has been charged with building and running the vast network of so-called re-education centers and forced labor programs that have seen more than a million corralled into ex-judicial detention to face torture and every kind of privation, and many more swallowed up into euphemistically named “poverty alleviation” schemes around China making goods for Western markets.
“All enterprises and investment projects in the region are expected as part of their corporate responsibility to engage in the government’s programs to ‘transform’ and indoctrinate Uyghur people and to ‘transfer’ and coerce them into labor-intensive work,” states the report. Subsidies and incentives are lavished on compliant companies and all entities operating in Bingtuan territory are obliged to perform central roles in the repression inflicted on the Uyghurs and other minoritized citizens.
The human rights violations implicit in its reach earned the XPCC and two of its highest officials sweeping US sanctions in July 2019 thereby banning all products under its umbrella from entering the USA.
The report points out that XPCC products, particularly tomatoes, coal, cotton and wool fabrics cited for export cannot escape tainting global supply chains, and although now forbidden from entering the U.K. and the United States, are polluting trade around the world due to their complex and opaque accountability networks.
One case study after another showing XPCC encroachment on land, its appropriation of scarce water resources, its destruction of ancient and traditional settlements and cultural and religious landmarks prove incontrovertibly that the relentless forward march of the paramilitary corporation, ordered by Beijing, has one end goal, that of the elimination or at the very least total assimilation of the Turkic peoples.
The economic, physical, mental, and emotional effect on the local population has taken its toll as farmers whose families have tilled their land for centuries see bulldozers raze their oasis homes, carved pillars and orchards to build concrete monolithic housing estates for incoming Chinese settlers. Many are even given bonuses if they demolish their own homes, and surrender their land without a whisper, after which they are forcibly relocated to state-run and monitored communities, “sterile, treeless, and anodyne,” say the authors, “maximizing visibility and surveillability.”
The report’s deep dive into the machinations of the XPCC reveal an orchestrated campaign lead by Beijing and collaborated with on the ground, to terrorize every Turkic citizen into shedding their cultural heritage and language in favor of Han practices and Xi Jinping’s vision of a “New Era.”
Xi’s orders to “chop the weeds and destroy their roots, eliminate the evil until nothing is left,” are personified in the roll out of tyranny since 2016 which has seen the XPCC transform the Uyghur region into a virtual open prison. Those who weren’t interned, lived under the spotlight of surveillance and networks of neighborhood snitches, the terror of practicing any religious faith, knocks on the door at midnight, disappearing academics, authors and friends and communities were gripped by the fear of what tomorrow might bring.
Every action and decision was, and still is, laced with the fear that disobedience would mean incarceration without trial. All these charges are laid at the feet of the XPCC by the authors of the report, who urge the international community to stand jointly against the monolith.
“The main purpose of the XPCC is to control, intimidate, disperse, and ultimately break down the Uyghur people until there is nothing left of their culture,” said Laura Murphy, Professor of Human Rights and Contemporary Slavery at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University and one of the authors of the report.
“The corporate empire that it has built on the backs of its forced labor programs has a huge footprint in the global economy, and it’s essential that world leaders in both business and government stand against the XPCC and its violations of human rights. As long as companies around the world continue to source from XPCC subsidiaries, Uyghurs and other local peoples in the region will continue to suffer.”
Direct action and a raft of more sanctions, including import bans on goods grown, processed or manufactured by the XPCC, should be imposed and Magnitsky sanctions widened to include more of its leaders, particularly the chief instigator of the worst excesses of recent clampdowns, former CCP Xinjiang Secretary Chen Quanguo himself, says the report.
Backing the research, 20 co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) from across the political spectrum and the world, have called for urgent action to hold the XPCC to account. Reiterating the need for robust trade measures against the body, to include “export controls against the 2,873 companies internationally in which the XPCC holds a majority stake,” it also advocates reforming modern slavery legislation to ban the import of goods made by the XPCC and other entities responsible for forced labor in the Xinjiang region.
Following the release of the report, Uyghur groups, including the World Uyghur Congress and the End Uyghur Forced Labour coalition have joined forces to call on “all companies in all countries to sever all relationships with XPCC companies and subsidiaries.” view all
]This original article is from here[/url]
Barracks of a paramilitary unit operated by XPCC. Credits.Beijing’s persecution in Xinjiang is deeply tied in with an organization set up specifically to squeeze out ethnic identities on its westernmost flank.
Shocking proof that the persecution of indigenous Turkic peoples in Xinjiang has been engineered and propelled by an organization specifically set up to squeeze out its indigenous population, has been uncovered by new research.
The extent to which the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), also known as the Bingtuan, originally set up seventy years ago to guard the Western frontiers, has mutated over time to create an “environment of extraordinary terror and oppression” has been laid bare by academics at the Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice.
According to “Until Nothing is Left, China’s Settler Corporation and its Human Rights Violations in the Uyghur Region,” the XPCC, steered by Beijing, but run locally, has evolved to the point whereby even the most intimate moments of Uyghur life are “surveilled, judged, and punished.”
The alarming conclusions of the report found that the small border force set up in 1954 during the Mao era, now functions as an immense multi-billion-dollar conglomerate with thirteen listed companies, and direct and indirect corporate holdings amounting to more than 862,000 entities worldwide.
Originally focused on agriculture and construction, the Bingtuan also now operates corporations in energy, mining, chemicals, oil and gas extraction, logistics, apparel, electronics, wine, food processing, insurance, tourism, and many other sectors. “The goods produced by the XPCC reach far into global supply chains, and XPCC construction projects operate not only in the XUAR but throughout China and across Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa,” note the authors.
Managing one sixth of the region’s total land, one sixth of the region’s total population, and much of its governing structures, the XPCC has its own military force, media networks, and high-quality schools and universities. It runs prisons, distributes and requisitions land, and mobilizes hundreds of thousands of Han from inner China to settle the region, and thereby dilute the indigenous population, building them houses and even cities, and grabbing land from local farmers to do so.
Most troubling, the Bingtuan has been charged with building and running the vast network of so-called re-education centers and forced labor programs that have seen more than a million corralled into ex-judicial detention to face torture and every kind of privation, and many more swallowed up into euphemistically named “poverty alleviation” schemes around China making goods for Western markets.
“All enterprises and investment projects in the region are expected as part of their corporate responsibility to engage in the government’s programs to ‘transform’ and indoctrinate Uyghur people and to ‘transfer’ and coerce them into labor-intensive work,” states the report. Subsidies and incentives are lavished on compliant companies and all entities operating in Bingtuan territory are obliged to perform central roles in the repression inflicted on the Uyghurs and other minoritized citizens.
The human rights violations implicit in its reach earned the XPCC and two of its highest officials sweeping US sanctions in July 2019 thereby banning all products under its umbrella from entering the USA.
The report points out that XPCC products, particularly tomatoes, coal, cotton and wool fabrics cited for export cannot escape tainting global supply chains, and although now forbidden from entering the U.K. and the United States, are polluting trade around the world due to their complex and opaque accountability networks.
One case study after another showing XPCC encroachment on land, its appropriation of scarce water resources, its destruction of ancient and traditional settlements and cultural and religious landmarks prove incontrovertibly that the relentless forward march of the paramilitary corporation, ordered by Beijing, has one end goal, that of the elimination or at the very least total assimilation of the Turkic peoples.
The economic, physical, mental, and emotional effect on the local population has taken its toll as farmers whose families have tilled their land for centuries see bulldozers raze their oasis homes, carved pillars and orchards to build concrete monolithic housing estates for incoming Chinese settlers. Many are even given bonuses if they demolish their own homes, and surrender their land without a whisper, after which they are forcibly relocated to state-run and monitored communities, “sterile, treeless, and anodyne,” say the authors, “maximizing visibility and surveillability.”
The report’s deep dive into the machinations of the XPCC reveal an orchestrated campaign lead by Beijing and collaborated with on the ground, to terrorize every Turkic citizen into shedding their cultural heritage and language in favor of Han practices and Xi Jinping’s vision of a “New Era.”
Xi’s orders to “chop the weeds and destroy their roots, eliminate the evil until nothing is left,” are personified in the roll out of tyranny since 2016 which has seen the XPCC transform the Uyghur region into a virtual open prison. Those who weren’t interned, lived under the spotlight of surveillance and networks of neighborhood snitches, the terror of practicing any religious faith, knocks on the door at midnight, disappearing academics, authors and friends and communities were gripped by the fear of what tomorrow might bring.
Every action and decision was, and still is, laced with the fear that disobedience would mean incarceration without trial. All these charges are laid at the feet of the XPCC by the authors of the report, who urge the international community to stand jointly against the monolith.
“The main purpose of the XPCC is to control, intimidate, disperse, and ultimately break down the Uyghur people until there is nothing left of their culture,” said Laura Murphy, Professor of Human Rights and Contemporary Slavery at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University and one of the authors of the report.
“The corporate empire that it has built on the backs of its forced labor programs has a huge footprint in the global economy, and it’s essential that world leaders in both business and government stand against the XPCC and its violations of human rights. As long as companies around the world continue to source from XPCC subsidiaries, Uyghurs and other local peoples in the region will continue to suffer.”
Direct action and a raft of more sanctions, including import bans on goods grown, processed or manufactured by the XPCC, should be imposed and Magnitsky sanctions widened to include more of its leaders, particularly the chief instigator of the worst excesses of recent clampdowns, former CCP Xinjiang Secretary Chen Quanguo himself, says the report.
Backing the research, 20 co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) from across the political spectrum and the world, have called for urgent action to hold the XPCC to account. Reiterating the need for robust trade measures against the body, to include “export controls against the 2,873 companies internationally in which the XPCC holds a majority stake,” it also advocates reforming modern slavery legislation to ban the import of goods made by the XPCC and other entities responsible for forced labor in the Xinjiang region.
Following the release of the report, Uyghur groups, including the World Uyghur Congress and the End Uyghur Forced Labour coalition have joined forces to call on “all companies in all countries to sever all relationships with XPCC companies and subsidiaries.” view all
Meet a sinister multi-billion-dollar conglomerate that has its own military force, universities, and jails.
]This original article is from here[/url]
Barracks of a paramilitary unit operated by XPCC. Credits.Beijing’s persecution in Xinjiang is deeply tied in with an organization set up specifically to squeeze out ethnic identities on its westernmost flank.
Shocking proof that the persecution of indigenous Turkic peoples in Xinjiang has been engineered and propelled by an organization specifically set up to squeeze out its indigenous population, has been uncovered by new research.
The extent to which the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), also known as the Bingtuan, originally set up seventy years ago to guard the Western frontiers, has mutated over time to create an “environment of extraordinary terror and oppression” has been laid bare by academics at the Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice.
According to “Until Nothing is Left, China’s Settler Corporation and its Human Rights Violations in the Uyghur Region,” the XPCC, steered by Beijing, but run locally, has evolved to the point whereby even the most intimate moments of Uyghur life are “surveilled, judged, and punished.”
The alarming conclusions of the report found that the small border force set up in 1954 during the Mao era, now functions as an immense multi-billion-dollar conglomerate with thirteen listed companies, and direct and indirect corporate holdings amounting to more than 862,000 entities worldwide.
Originally focused on agriculture and construction, the Bingtuan also now operates corporations in energy, mining, chemicals, oil and gas extraction, logistics, apparel, electronics, wine, food processing, insurance, tourism, and many other sectors. “The goods produced by the XPCC reach far into global supply chains, and XPCC construction projects operate not only in the XUAR but throughout China and across Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa,” note the authors.
Managing one sixth of the region’s total land, one sixth of the region’s total population, and much of its governing structures, the XPCC has its own military force, media networks, and high-quality schools and universities. It runs prisons, distributes and requisitions land, and mobilizes hundreds of thousands of Han from inner China to settle the region, and thereby dilute the indigenous population, building them houses and even cities, and grabbing land from local farmers to do so.
Most troubling, the Bingtuan has been charged with building and running the vast network of so-called re-education centers and forced labor programs that have seen more than a million corralled into ex-judicial detention to face torture and every kind of privation, and many more swallowed up into euphemistically named “poverty alleviation” schemes around China making goods for Western markets.
“All enterprises and investment projects in the region are expected as part of their corporate responsibility to engage in the government’s programs to ‘transform’ and indoctrinate Uyghur people and to ‘transfer’ and coerce them into labor-intensive work,” states the report. Subsidies and incentives are lavished on compliant companies and all entities operating in Bingtuan territory are obliged to perform central roles in the repression inflicted on the Uyghurs and other minoritized citizens.
The human rights violations implicit in its reach earned the XPCC and two of its highest officials sweeping US sanctions in July 2019 thereby banning all products under its umbrella from entering the USA.
The report points out that XPCC products, particularly tomatoes, coal, cotton and wool fabrics cited for export cannot escape tainting global supply chains, and although now forbidden from entering the U.K. and the United States, are polluting trade around the world due to their complex and opaque accountability networks.
One case study after another showing XPCC encroachment on land, its appropriation of scarce water resources, its destruction of ancient and traditional settlements and cultural and religious landmarks prove incontrovertibly that the relentless forward march of the paramilitary corporation, ordered by Beijing, has one end goal, that of the elimination or at the very least total assimilation of the Turkic peoples.
The economic, physical, mental, and emotional effect on the local population has taken its toll as farmers whose families have tilled their land for centuries see bulldozers raze their oasis homes, carved pillars and orchards to build concrete monolithic housing estates for incoming Chinese settlers. Many are even given bonuses if they demolish their own homes, and surrender their land without a whisper, after which they are forcibly relocated to state-run and monitored communities, “sterile, treeless, and anodyne,” say the authors, “maximizing visibility and surveillability.”
The report’s deep dive into the machinations of the XPCC reveal an orchestrated campaign lead by Beijing and collaborated with on the ground, to terrorize every Turkic citizen into shedding their cultural heritage and language in favor of Han practices and Xi Jinping’s vision of a “New Era.”
Xi’s orders to “chop the weeds and destroy their roots, eliminate the evil until nothing is left,” are personified in the roll out of tyranny since 2016 which has seen the XPCC transform the Uyghur region into a virtual open prison. Those who weren’t interned, lived under the spotlight of surveillance and networks of neighborhood snitches, the terror of practicing any religious faith, knocks on the door at midnight, disappearing academics, authors and friends and communities were gripped by the fear of what tomorrow might bring.
Every action and decision was, and still is, laced with the fear that disobedience would mean incarceration without trial. All these charges are laid at the feet of the XPCC by the authors of the report, who urge the international community to stand jointly against the monolith.
“The main purpose of the XPCC is to control, intimidate, disperse, and ultimately break down the Uyghur people until there is nothing left of their culture,” said Laura Murphy, Professor of Human Rights and Contemporary Slavery at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University and one of the authors of the report.
“The corporate empire that it has built on the backs of its forced labor programs has a huge footprint in the global economy, and it’s essential that world leaders in both business and government stand against the XPCC and its violations of human rights. As long as companies around the world continue to source from XPCC subsidiaries, Uyghurs and other local peoples in the region will continue to suffer.”
Direct action and a raft of more sanctions, including import bans on goods grown, processed or manufactured by the XPCC, should be imposed and Magnitsky sanctions widened to include more of its leaders, particularly the chief instigator of the worst excesses of recent clampdowns, former CCP Xinjiang Secretary Chen Quanguo himself, says the report.
Backing the research, 20 co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) from across the political spectrum and the world, have called for urgent action to hold the XPCC to account. Reiterating the need for robust trade measures against the body, to include “export controls against the 2,873 companies internationally in which the XPCC holds a majority stake,” it also advocates reforming modern slavery legislation to ban the import of goods made by the XPCC and other entities responsible for forced labor in the Xinjiang region.
Following the release of the report, Uyghur groups, including the World Uyghur Congress and the End Uyghur Forced Labour coalition have joined forces to call on “all companies in all countries to sever all relationships with XPCC companies and subsidiaries.”
]This original article is from here[/url]
Barracks of a paramilitary unit operated by XPCC. Credits.Beijing’s persecution in Xinjiang is deeply tied in with an organization set up specifically to squeeze out ethnic identities on its westernmost flank.
Shocking proof that the persecution of indigenous Turkic peoples in Xinjiang has been engineered and propelled by an organization specifically set up to squeeze out its indigenous population, has been uncovered by new research.
The extent to which the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), also known as the Bingtuan, originally set up seventy years ago to guard the Western frontiers, has mutated over time to create an “environment of extraordinary terror and oppression” has been laid bare by academics at the Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice.
According to “Until Nothing is Left, China’s Settler Corporation and its Human Rights Violations in the Uyghur Region,” the XPCC, steered by Beijing, but run locally, has evolved to the point whereby even the most intimate moments of Uyghur life are “surveilled, judged, and punished.”
The alarming conclusions of the report found that the small border force set up in 1954 during the Mao era, now functions as an immense multi-billion-dollar conglomerate with thirteen listed companies, and direct and indirect corporate holdings amounting to more than 862,000 entities worldwide.
Originally focused on agriculture and construction, the Bingtuan also now operates corporations in energy, mining, chemicals, oil and gas extraction, logistics, apparel, electronics, wine, food processing, insurance, tourism, and many other sectors. “The goods produced by the XPCC reach far into global supply chains, and XPCC construction projects operate not only in the XUAR but throughout China and across Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa,” note the authors.
Managing one sixth of the region’s total land, one sixth of the region’s total population, and much of its governing structures, the XPCC has its own military force, media networks, and high-quality schools and universities. It runs prisons, distributes and requisitions land, and mobilizes hundreds of thousands of Han from inner China to settle the region, and thereby dilute the indigenous population, building them houses and even cities, and grabbing land from local farmers to do so.
Most troubling, the Bingtuan has been charged with building and running the vast network of so-called re-education centers and forced labor programs that have seen more than a million corralled into ex-judicial detention to face torture and every kind of privation, and many more swallowed up into euphemistically named “poverty alleviation” schemes around China making goods for Western markets.
“All enterprises and investment projects in the region are expected as part of their corporate responsibility to engage in the government’s programs to ‘transform’ and indoctrinate Uyghur people and to ‘transfer’ and coerce them into labor-intensive work,” states the report. Subsidies and incentives are lavished on compliant companies and all entities operating in Bingtuan territory are obliged to perform central roles in the repression inflicted on the Uyghurs and other minoritized citizens.
The human rights violations implicit in its reach earned the XPCC and two of its highest officials sweeping US sanctions in July 2019 thereby banning all products under its umbrella from entering the USA.
The report points out that XPCC products, particularly tomatoes, coal, cotton and wool fabrics cited for export cannot escape tainting global supply chains, and although now forbidden from entering the U.K. and the United States, are polluting trade around the world due to their complex and opaque accountability networks.
One case study after another showing XPCC encroachment on land, its appropriation of scarce water resources, its destruction of ancient and traditional settlements and cultural and religious landmarks prove incontrovertibly that the relentless forward march of the paramilitary corporation, ordered by Beijing, has one end goal, that of the elimination or at the very least total assimilation of the Turkic peoples.
The economic, physical, mental, and emotional effect on the local population has taken its toll as farmers whose families have tilled their land for centuries see bulldozers raze their oasis homes, carved pillars and orchards to build concrete monolithic housing estates for incoming Chinese settlers. Many are even given bonuses if they demolish their own homes, and surrender their land without a whisper, after which they are forcibly relocated to state-run and monitored communities, “sterile, treeless, and anodyne,” say the authors, “maximizing visibility and surveillability.”
The report’s deep dive into the machinations of the XPCC reveal an orchestrated campaign lead by Beijing and collaborated with on the ground, to terrorize every Turkic citizen into shedding their cultural heritage and language in favor of Han practices and Xi Jinping’s vision of a “New Era.”
Xi’s orders to “chop the weeds and destroy their roots, eliminate the evil until nothing is left,” are personified in the roll out of tyranny since 2016 which has seen the XPCC transform the Uyghur region into a virtual open prison. Those who weren’t interned, lived under the spotlight of surveillance and networks of neighborhood snitches, the terror of practicing any religious faith, knocks on the door at midnight, disappearing academics, authors and friends and communities were gripped by the fear of what tomorrow might bring.
Every action and decision was, and still is, laced with the fear that disobedience would mean incarceration without trial. All these charges are laid at the feet of the XPCC by the authors of the report, who urge the international community to stand jointly against the monolith.
“The main purpose of the XPCC is to control, intimidate, disperse, and ultimately break down the Uyghur people until there is nothing left of their culture,” said Laura Murphy, Professor of Human Rights and Contemporary Slavery at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University and one of the authors of the report.
“The corporate empire that it has built on the backs of its forced labor programs has a huge footprint in the global economy, and it’s essential that world leaders in both business and government stand against the XPCC and its violations of human rights. As long as companies around the world continue to source from XPCC subsidiaries, Uyghurs and other local peoples in the region will continue to suffer.”
Direct action and a raft of more sanctions, including import bans on goods grown, processed or manufactured by the XPCC, should be imposed and Magnitsky sanctions widened to include more of its leaders, particularly the chief instigator of the worst excesses of recent clampdowns, former CCP Xinjiang Secretary Chen Quanguo himself, says the report.
Backing the research, 20 co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) from across the political spectrum and the world, have called for urgent action to hold the XPCC to account. Reiterating the need for robust trade measures against the body, to include “export controls against the 2,873 companies internationally in which the XPCC holds a majority stake,” it also advocates reforming modern slavery legislation to ban the import of goods made by the XPCC and other entities responsible for forced labor in the Xinjiang region.
Following the release of the report, Uyghur groups, including the World Uyghur Congress and the End Uyghur Forced Labour coalition have joined forces to call on “all companies in all countries to sever all relationships with XPCC companies and subsidiaries.”
The U.S. Department of State published a report on CPP efforts to manipulate the global narrative on the Uyghur genocide
News • Dexter posted the article • 0 comments • 744 views • 2022-08-28 22:54
]Arabic Language Report Link[/url]
]English Report link[/url]
]Chinese Language Report Link[/url]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) actively attempts to manipulate and dominate global discourse on Xinjiang and to discredit independent sources reporting ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity conducted against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. PRC-directed and -affiliated actors lead a coordinated effort to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on Xinjiang, to drown out and marginalize narratives that are critical of the PRC’s repression of Uyghurs, and to harass those critical of the PRC.
MESSAGING TACTICS
PRC messaging tactics seek to drown out critical narratives by both flooding the international information environment to limit access to content that contradicts Beijing’s official line, and by creating an artificial appearance of support for PRC policies. Messengers use sophisticated A.I. -generated images to create the appearance of authenticity of fake user profiles. The PRC works to silence dissent by engaging in digital transnational repression, trolling, and cyberbullying.
Flooding To Drown Out Critical Narratives
The PRC floods conversations to drown out messages it perceives as unfavorable to its interests on search engines and social media feeds, and to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on its treatment of Uyghurs. Pro-PRC stakeholders flood information ecosystems with counternarratives, conspiracy theories, and unrelated news items to suppress narratives detailing PRC authorities’ atrocities in Xinjiang. Government social media accounts, PRC-affiliated media, private accounts, and bot clusters, likely all directed by PRC authorities, assist in this effort.
Astroturfing To Create a False Appearance of Support
To manipulate narratives on Xinjiang, pro-PRC actors engage in “astroturfing ,” or coordinated campaigns of inauthentic posts to create the illusion of widespread grassroots support for a policy, individual, or viewpoint, when no such widespread support exists. Similar to flooding, the PRC uses astroturfing to inundate the information space with “positive stories ” about Xinjiang and the Uyghur population, including manufactured depictions of Uyghurs living “simple happy lives,” as well as posts emphasizing the purported economic gains that the PRC’s policies have brought to Xinjiang. In mid-2021, more than 300 pro-PRC inauthentic accounts posted thousands of videos of Uyghurs seeming to deny abuse in the region and claiming they were “very free.” These videos claimed to show widespread disagreement throughout Xinjiang with claims in international media that Uyghurs were oppressed. However, according to the New York Times and ProPublica , propaganda officials in Xinjiang created most of these videos, which first appeared on PRC-based platforms and then spread to YouTube and Twitter, in order to manipulate public opinion.
A.I. Generated Images Used To Create the Appearance of Authenticity
Since at least January 2021 , pro-PRC networks have used advanced artificial intelligence-generated content, such as ]StyleGAN machine-learning[/url] generated images, to fabricate realistic-looking profile pictures for their inauthentic accounts. Unlike stolen images of real people, these tools create composite images that cannot be traced using a reverse image search, making it harder to determine whether the account is inauthentic. Some of these accounts repeatedly denied the PRC’s atrocities in Xinjiang, falsely asserting that the body of overwhelming and objective independent evidence of the atrocities is simply a fabrication of the United States and its allies.
Transnational Repression, Trolling, and Cyberbullying To Silence Dissent
PRC-sponsored transnational repression targets those who speak out against the PRC, particularly in Chinese diaspora communities , with on- and offline harassment to prevent them from sharing their stories or to intimidate them into self-censorship. Trolling campaigns are designed to silence those who speak out against the PRC, to poison the information environment with bad-faith arguments, and to silence opposing viewpoints. Trolling campaigns frequently evolve into threats of death, rape, or assault; malicious cyber-attacks; and cyberbullying or harassment through doxxing – publishing an individual’s personal information online without their permission, including their full name, home address, or job. In March 2021, the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) publicly questioned several individuals’ claims of maltreatment.
Narrative Focus
PRC Xinjiang narratives focus on denying criticism and amplifying “positive stories” in an attempt to counter accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity. The most aggressive PRC messengers often go on the offensive, creating false equivalencies with the actions of other countries to distract from international criticism of PRC behavior.
Rebutting/Denying Criticism from Independent Media Sources
PRC messengers both post and amplify content that denies claims made by independent media outlets and internationally renowned think tanks. In response to third-party accusations that the PRC subjects Uyghurs to forced labor , a wave of PRC diplomatic accounts , PRC- and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated media organizations , and suspected bot networks posted stories about the mechanized cotton harvesting process in Xinjiang, suggesting that the Xinjiang cotton industry has no need for forced labor. This messaging avoided responding to reports regarding the PRC authorities’ transfer of an estimated 100,000 Uyghurs out of Xinjiang in “coercive labor placements ” to work in factories elsewhere in the PRC.
Amplifying “Positive Stories” To Counter/”Disprove” Accusations of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
PRC actors use hashtags such as #AmazingXinjiang and #Xinjiang to amplify positive stories about Xinjiang and counter independent reporting of allegations of crimes against humanity and genocide by PRC authorities. Stories of a multicultural society living in harmony stand in contrast to the reality of the PRC’s extensive surveillance of Uyghurs, including PRC officials living in Uyghur homes for at least six weeks a year. This messaging aims to divert attention from reports regarding the PRC’s “demographic engineering ” campaign to systematically increase the Han Chinese population in Xinjiang and to “dilute ” Uyghur population concentrations in the region.
“Whataboutism” and False Equivalencies Used To Distract/Deflect Criticism
PRC actors, including voluble diplomats in the MFA’s Information Department use “whataboutism” and false equivalencies to distract from the PRC’s policies in Xinjiang and to portray accusers as hypocritical . Their arguments do not advance the case that the PRC is innocent; rather, they make the point that other countries are equally guilty of abuses. Despite these efforts to distract from the situation in Xinjiang, independent media outlets, academics, and human rights activists have published multiple eyewitness accounts and verifiable data that the PRC has imprisoned an estimated one million people and that credible evidence exists of torture , forced sterilization , and other abuses.
PRC MESSENGERS
The PRC’s most aggressive messengers are a subset of PRC diplomatic officials known for their confrontational messaging. Additionally, PRC- and CCP-affiliated media spread Xinjiang-related disinformation on a global scale in at least a dozen languages. To reach and resonate with global audiences, the PRC turns to private media companies and multilingual social media influencers. Trolls take the lead on attacking, stirring controversies, insulting, and harassing netizens to poison the information environment and distract from narratives critical of the PRC.
Subset of PRC Diplomats Lead with Assertive Messaging
Most of the PRC’s diplomatic social media messaging is positive and tends to focus on highlighting good relations with other countries and seeks to burnish the PRC’s image. A minority of MFA officials – dubbed “wolf warriors ” by some commentators – use social media platforms to defend the PRC’s national interests, often in confrontational ways . These individuals are most likely to try to deny, “disprove,” and deflect narratives that run counter to PRC official messaging. For example, to distract from the atrocities in Xinjiang, PRC messengers spread a false narrative claiming that the CIA was trying to foment unrest in Xinjiang in order to bring down the PRC. This aggressive style allows the PRC to experiment with different types of messaging to see what plays well at home and abroad. For example, some MFA officials’ accounts repeatedly spread disinformation and conspiracy theories regarding the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19 and about Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine.
PRC- and CCP-Affiliated Media Spread Xinjiang-Related Disinformation Globally
PRC- and CCP-affiliated media outlets like China Global Television Network, China Daily, China Radio International, and Xinhua produce content in at least 12 languages and devote significant resources to advertising on social media. In February 2021, facing growing international scrutiny over the PRC’s genocide in Xinjiang, Xinhua released a “fact sheet ” containing numerous false claims, such as stating that the internment camps holding Uyghurs in Xinjiang are “vocational education and training centers”’ that have “fully guaranteed the trainees’ personal freedom and dignity.” However, detainees’ testimonies published by Amnesty International allege that the PRC subjected them to regular interrogation, torture, and other mistreatment. The PRC partners with foreign media to republish both PRC-produced and PRC-backed content to local audiences, giving Beijing’s chosen narratives a level of authority and credibility they would not be able to achieve on their own. For example, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation ran a story by an anonymous author in November 2019 on the PRC’s “poverty alleviation ” policy in Xinjiang, causing observers to question its validity and whether it was PRC propaganda.
PRC Increasingly Turns to Private Media Companies To Craft Foreign-Facing Information Manipulation Campaigns
The PRC outsources and privatizes some of its foreign language information operations to take advantage of private sector innovation. The PRC government engages with at least 90 PRC-based firms to design foreign-facing information manipulation campaigns to portray the PRC positively. For example, a publishing organization operated by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Bureau of Radio, Film and Television and affiliated with the CCP’s United Front Work Department paid a marketing company to create videos depicting Uyghurs supporting the PRC government, which a network of inauthentic accounts then amplified on Twitter and YouTube.
Inauthentic Networks Used To Amplify PRC Narratives
Inauthentic networks of bots as well as real accounts that tweet and retweet PRC-approved narratives flood the information space and support astroturfing campaigns. One network of accounts posts information denying atrocities in Xinjiang or accusing “the West” of hypocrisy and another, larger network of accounts amplifies it through retweets and reposting. Stanford University’s Internet Observatory Cyber Policy Center assesses that the PRC’s English-language inauthentic networks have not been successful at gaining traction among foreign audiences.
Influencers Used To Better Reach Young International Audiences
PRC authorities believe social media influencers can help to push PRC messaging to shape local information environments due to their relatability and authenticity. CCP planners seek to adapt how they reach younger media consumers globally and are designing foreign propaganda to be more “youthful” and viral while strictly adhering to political “red lines .” In June 2021, Shen Haixiong, the head of state-run China Media Group – which falls under the direction of the CCP’s Propaganda Department – promoted the use of “multilingual internet celebrity studios ” to enhance the PRC’s image in key regions. Analytics firm Miburo Solutions identified more than 200 third-country influencers affiliated with PRC state media creating social media content in at least 38 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian with an average reach of 309,000 followers. Miburo found that the PRC uses influencers to advance its narratives regarding Xinjiang by obscuring state media employees’ affiliations and by orchestrating pro-PRC Western influencers’ tours of Xinjiang.
Trolls Used To Defend PRC Positions and Attack, Insult, and Harass Critics
Internet trolls mainly working under the auspices of the People’s Liberation Army, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, or the Communist Youth League directly attack critics online. According to the French Military School Strategic Research Institute , PRC trolls’ tactics include defending the PRC, attacking and trying to discredit critics, feeding controversies, insulting, and harassing. The PRC’s Cyberspace Affairs Commission and Central Propaganda Department directly employ an estimated two million people nationwide in this capacity and another 20 million working as part-time “network civilization volunteers .” These forces target the PRC’s domestic audience and Chinese-speaking diaspora communities. In response to the Hong Kong protests in 2019, the PRC started to invest more in influencing users of U.S.-based platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as international platforms, such as VKontakte and Telegram. In 2021, cybersecurity firm FireEye’s Mandiant Threat Intelligence arm and Google’s Threat Analysis Group identified elements of an ongoing PRC-backed information operation that targeted a range of issues, including Xinjiang, in various languages across 30 social media platforms and 40 websites. view all
]English Report link[/url]
]Chinese Language Report Link[/url]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) actively attempts to manipulate and dominate global discourse on Xinjiang and to discredit independent sources reporting ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity conducted against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. PRC-directed and -affiliated actors lead a coordinated effort to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on Xinjiang, to drown out and marginalize narratives that are critical of the PRC’s repression of Uyghurs, and to harass those critical of the PRC.
MESSAGING TACTICS
PRC messaging tactics seek to drown out critical narratives by both flooding the international information environment to limit access to content that contradicts Beijing’s official line, and by creating an artificial appearance of support for PRC policies. Messengers use sophisticated A.I. -generated images to create the appearance of authenticity of fake user profiles. The PRC works to silence dissent by engaging in digital transnational repression, trolling, and cyberbullying.
Flooding To Drown Out Critical Narratives
The PRC floods conversations to drown out messages it perceives as unfavorable to its interests on search engines and social media feeds, and to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on its treatment of Uyghurs. Pro-PRC stakeholders flood information ecosystems with counternarratives, conspiracy theories, and unrelated news items to suppress narratives detailing PRC authorities’ atrocities in Xinjiang. Government social media accounts, PRC-affiliated media, private accounts, and bot clusters, likely all directed by PRC authorities, assist in this effort.
Astroturfing To Create a False Appearance of Support
To manipulate narratives on Xinjiang, pro-PRC actors engage in “astroturfing ,” or coordinated campaigns of inauthentic posts to create the illusion of widespread grassroots support for a policy, individual, or viewpoint, when no such widespread support exists. Similar to flooding, the PRC uses astroturfing to inundate the information space with “positive stories ” about Xinjiang and the Uyghur population, including manufactured depictions of Uyghurs living “simple happy lives,” as well as posts emphasizing the purported economic gains that the PRC’s policies have brought to Xinjiang. In mid-2021, more than 300 pro-PRC inauthentic accounts posted thousands of videos of Uyghurs seeming to deny abuse in the region and claiming they were “very free.” These videos claimed to show widespread disagreement throughout Xinjiang with claims in international media that Uyghurs were oppressed. However, according to the New York Times and ProPublica , propaganda officials in Xinjiang created most of these videos, which first appeared on PRC-based platforms and then spread to YouTube and Twitter, in order to manipulate public opinion.
A.I. Generated Images Used To Create the Appearance of Authenticity
Since at least January 2021 , pro-PRC networks have used advanced artificial intelligence-generated content, such as ]StyleGAN machine-learning[/url] generated images, to fabricate realistic-looking profile pictures for their inauthentic accounts. Unlike stolen images of real people, these tools create composite images that cannot be traced using a reverse image search, making it harder to determine whether the account is inauthentic. Some of these accounts repeatedly denied the PRC’s atrocities in Xinjiang, falsely asserting that the body of overwhelming and objective independent evidence of the atrocities is simply a fabrication of the United States and its allies.
Transnational Repression, Trolling, and Cyberbullying To Silence Dissent
PRC-sponsored transnational repression targets those who speak out against the PRC, particularly in Chinese diaspora communities , with on- and offline harassment to prevent them from sharing their stories or to intimidate them into self-censorship. Trolling campaigns are designed to silence those who speak out against the PRC, to poison the information environment with bad-faith arguments, and to silence opposing viewpoints. Trolling campaigns frequently evolve into threats of death, rape, or assault; malicious cyber-attacks; and cyberbullying or harassment through doxxing – publishing an individual’s personal information online without their permission, including their full name, home address, or job. In March 2021, the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) publicly questioned several individuals’ claims of maltreatment.
Narrative Focus
PRC Xinjiang narratives focus on denying criticism and amplifying “positive stories” in an attempt to counter accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity. The most aggressive PRC messengers often go on the offensive, creating false equivalencies with the actions of other countries to distract from international criticism of PRC behavior.
Rebutting/Denying Criticism from Independent Media Sources
PRC messengers both post and amplify content that denies claims made by independent media outlets and internationally renowned think tanks. In response to third-party accusations that the PRC subjects Uyghurs to forced labor , a wave of PRC diplomatic accounts , PRC- and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated media organizations , and suspected bot networks posted stories about the mechanized cotton harvesting process in Xinjiang, suggesting that the Xinjiang cotton industry has no need for forced labor. This messaging avoided responding to reports regarding the PRC authorities’ transfer of an estimated 100,000 Uyghurs out of Xinjiang in “coercive labor placements ” to work in factories elsewhere in the PRC.
Amplifying “Positive Stories” To Counter/”Disprove” Accusations of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
PRC actors use hashtags such as #AmazingXinjiang and #Xinjiang to amplify positive stories about Xinjiang and counter independent reporting of allegations of crimes against humanity and genocide by PRC authorities. Stories of a multicultural society living in harmony stand in contrast to the reality of the PRC’s extensive surveillance of Uyghurs, including PRC officials living in Uyghur homes for at least six weeks a year. This messaging aims to divert attention from reports regarding the PRC’s “demographic engineering ” campaign to systematically increase the Han Chinese population in Xinjiang and to “dilute ” Uyghur population concentrations in the region.
“Whataboutism” and False Equivalencies Used To Distract/Deflect Criticism
PRC actors, including voluble diplomats in the MFA’s Information Department use “whataboutism” and false equivalencies to distract from the PRC’s policies in Xinjiang and to portray accusers as hypocritical . Their arguments do not advance the case that the PRC is innocent; rather, they make the point that other countries are equally guilty of abuses. Despite these efforts to distract from the situation in Xinjiang, independent media outlets, academics, and human rights activists have published multiple eyewitness accounts and verifiable data that the PRC has imprisoned an estimated one million people and that credible evidence exists of torture , forced sterilization , and other abuses.
PRC MESSENGERS
The PRC’s most aggressive messengers are a subset of PRC diplomatic officials known for their confrontational messaging. Additionally, PRC- and CCP-affiliated media spread Xinjiang-related disinformation on a global scale in at least a dozen languages. To reach and resonate with global audiences, the PRC turns to private media companies and multilingual social media influencers. Trolls take the lead on attacking, stirring controversies, insulting, and harassing netizens to poison the information environment and distract from narratives critical of the PRC.
Subset of PRC Diplomats Lead with Assertive Messaging
Most of the PRC’s diplomatic social media messaging is positive and tends to focus on highlighting good relations with other countries and seeks to burnish the PRC’s image. A minority of MFA officials – dubbed “wolf warriors ” by some commentators – use social media platforms to defend the PRC’s national interests, often in confrontational ways . These individuals are most likely to try to deny, “disprove,” and deflect narratives that run counter to PRC official messaging. For example, to distract from the atrocities in Xinjiang, PRC messengers spread a false narrative claiming that the CIA was trying to foment unrest in Xinjiang in order to bring down the PRC. This aggressive style allows the PRC to experiment with different types of messaging to see what plays well at home and abroad. For example, some MFA officials’ accounts repeatedly spread disinformation and conspiracy theories regarding the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19 and about Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine.
PRC- and CCP-Affiliated Media Spread Xinjiang-Related Disinformation Globally
PRC- and CCP-affiliated media outlets like China Global Television Network, China Daily, China Radio International, and Xinhua produce content in at least 12 languages and devote significant resources to advertising on social media. In February 2021, facing growing international scrutiny over the PRC’s genocide in Xinjiang, Xinhua released a “fact sheet ” containing numerous false claims, such as stating that the internment camps holding Uyghurs in Xinjiang are “vocational education and training centers”’ that have “fully guaranteed the trainees’ personal freedom and dignity.” However, detainees’ testimonies published by Amnesty International allege that the PRC subjected them to regular interrogation, torture, and other mistreatment. The PRC partners with foreign media to republish both PRC-produced and PRC-backed content to local audiences, giving Beijing’s chosen narratives a level of authority and credibility they would not be able to achieve on their own. For example, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation ran a story by an anonymous author in November 2019 on the PRC’s “poverty alleviation ” policy in Xinjiang, causing observers to question its validity and whether it was PRC propaganda.
PRC Increasingly Turns to Private Media Companies To Craft Foreign-Facing Information Manipulation Campaigns
The PRC outsources and privatizes some of its foreign language information operations to take advantage of private sector innovation. The PRC government engages with at least 90 PRC-based firms to design foreign-facing information manipulation campaigns to portray the PRC positively. For example, a publishing organization operated by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Bureau of Radio, Film and Television and affiliated with the CCP’s United Front Work Department paid a marketing company to create videos depicting Uyghurs supporting the PRC government, which a network of inauthentic accounts then amplified on Twitter and YouTube.
Inauthentic Networks Used To Amplify PRC Narratives
Inauthentic networks of bots as well as real accounts that tweet and retweet PRC-approved narratives flood the information space and support astroturfing campaigns. One network of accounts posts information denying atrocities in Xinjiang or accusing “the West” of hypocrisy and another, larger network of accounts amplifies it through retweets and reposting. Stanford University’s Internet Observatory Cyber Policy Center assesses that the PRC’s English-language inauthentic networks have not been successful at gaining traction among foreign audiences.
Influencers Used To Better Reach Young International Audiences
PRC authorities believe social media influencers can help to push PRC messaging to shape local information environments due to their relatability and authenticity. CCP planners seek to adapt how they reach younger media consumers globally and are designing foreign propaganda to be more “youthful” and viral while strictly adhering to political “red lines .” In June 2021, Shen Haixiong, the head of state-run China Media Group – which falls under the direction of the CCP’s Propaganda Department – promoted the use of “multilingual internet celebrity studios ” to enhance the PRC’s image in key regions. Analytics firm Miburo Solutions identified more than 200 third-country influencers affiliated with PRC state media creating social media content in at least 38 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian with an average reach of 309,000 followers. Miburo found that the PRC uses influencers to advance its narratives regarding Xinjiang by obscuring state media employees’ affiliations and by orchestrating pro-PRC Western influencers’ tours of Xinjiang.
Trolls Used To Defend PRC Positions and Attack, Insult, and Harass Critics
Internet trolls mainly working under the auspices of the People’s Liberation Army, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, or the Communist Youth League directly attack critics online. According to the French Military School Strategic Research Institute , PRC trolls’ tactics include defending the PRC, attacking and trying to discredit critics, feeding controversies, insulting, and harassing. The PRC’s Cyberspace Affairs Commission and Central Propaganda Department directly employ an estimated two million people nationwide in this capacity and another 20 million working as part-time “network civilization volunteers .” These forces target the PRC’s domestic audience and Chinese-speaking diaspora communities. In response to the Hong Kong protests in 2019, the PRC started to invest more in influencing users of U.S.-based platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as international platforms, such as VKontakte and Telegram. In 2021, cybersecurity firm FireEye’s Mandiant Threat Intelligence arm and Google’s Threat Analysis Group identified elements of an ongoing PRC-backed information operation that targeted a range of issues, including Xinjiang, in various languages across 30 social media platforms and 40 websites. view all
]Arabic Language Report Link[/url]
]English Report link[/url]
]Chinese Language Report Link[/url]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) actively attempts to manipulate and dominate global discourse on Xinjiang and to discredit independent sources reporting ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity conducted against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. PRC-directed and -affiliated actors lead a coordinated effort to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on Xinjiang, to drown out and marginalize narratives that are critical of the PRC’s repression of Uyghurs, and to harass those critical of the PRC.
MESSAGING TACTICS
PRC messaging tactics seek to drown out critical narratives by both flooding the international information environment to limit access to content that contradicts Beijing’s official line, and by creating an artificial appearance of support for PRC policies. Messengers use sophisticated A.I. -generated images to create the appearance of authenticity of fake user profiles. The PRC works to silence dissent by engaging in digital transnational repression, trolling, and cyberbullying.
Flooding To Drown Out Critical Narratives
The PRC floods conversations to drown out messages it perceives as unfavorable to its interests on search engines and social media feeds, and to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on its treatment of Uyghurs. Pro-PRC stakeholders flood information ecosystems with counternarratives, conspiracy theories, and unrelated news items to suppress narratives detailing PRC authorities’ atrocities in Xinjiang. Government social media accounts, PRC-affiliated media, private accounts, and bot clusters, likely all directed by PRC authorities, assist in this effort.
Astroturfing To Create a False Appearance of Support
To manipulate narratives on Xinjiang, pro-PRC actors engage in “astroturfing ,” or coordinated campaigns of inauthentic posts to create the illusion of widespread grassroots support for a policy, individual, or viewpoint, when no such widespread support exists. Similar to flooding, the PRC uses astroturfing to inundate the information space with “positive stories ” about Xinjiang and the Uyghur population, including manufactured depictions of Uyghurs living “simple happy lives,” as well as posts emphasizing the purported economic gains that the PRC’s policies have brought to Xinjiang. In mid-2021, more than 300 pro-PRC inauthentic accounts posted thousands of videos of Uyghurs seeming to deny abuse in the region and claiming they were “very free.” These videos claimed to show widespread disagreement throughout Xinjiang with claims in international media that Uyghurs were oppressed. However, according to the New York Times and ProPublica , propaganda officials in Xinjiang created most of these videos, which first appeared on PRC-based platforms and then spread to YouTube and Twitter, in order to manipulate public opinion.
A.I. Generated Images Used To Create the Appearance of Authenticity
Since at least January 2021 , pro-PRC networks have used advanced artificial intelligence-generated content, such as ]StyleGAN machine-learning[/url] generated images, to fabricate realistic-looking profile pictures for their inauthentic accounts. Unlike stolen images of real people, these tools create composite images that cannot be traced using a reverse image search, making it harder to determine whether the account is inauthentic. Some of these accounts repeatedly denied the PRC’s atrocities in Xinjiang, falsely asserting that the body of overwhelming and objective independent evidence of the atrocities is simply a fabrication of the United States and its allies.
Transnational Repression, Trolling, and Cyberbullying To Silence Dissent
PRC-sponsored transnational repression targets those who speak out against the PRC, particularly in Chinese diaspora communities , with on- and offline harassment to prevent them from sharing their stories or to intimidate them into self-censorship. Trolling campaigns are designed to silence those who speak out against the PRC, to poison the information environment with bad-faith arguments, and to silence opposing viewpoints. Trolling campaigns frequently evolve into threats of death, rape, or assault; malicious cyber-attacks; and cyberbullying or harassment through doxxing – publishing an individual’s personal information online without their permission, including their full name, home address, or job. In March 2021, the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) publicly questioned several individuals’ claims of maltreatment.
Narrative Focus
PRC Xinjiang narratives focus on denying criticism and amplifying “positive stories” in an attempt to counter accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity. The most aggressive PRC messengers often go on the offensive, creating false equivalencies with the actions of other countries to distract from international criticism of PRC behavior.
Rebutting/Denying Criticism from Independent Media Sources
PRC messengers both post and amplify content that denies claims made by independent media outlets and internationally renowned think tanks. In response to third-party accusations that the PRC subjects Uyghurs to forced labor , a wave of PRC diplomatic accounts , PRC- and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated media organizations , and suspected bot networks posted stories about the mechanized cotton harvesting process in Xinjiang, suggesting that the Xinjiang cotton industry has no need for forced labor. This messaging avoided responding to reports regarding the PRC authorities’ transfer of an estimated 100,000 Uyghurs out of Xinjiang in “coercive labor placements ” to work in factories elsewhere in the PRC.
Amplifying “Positive Stories” To Counter/”Disprove” Accusations of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
PRC actors use hashtags such as #AmazingXinjiang and #Xinjiang to amplify positive stories about Xinjiang and counter independent reporting of allegations of crimes against humanity and genocide by PRC authorities. Stories of a multicultural society living in harmony stand in contrast to the reality of the PRC’s extensive surveillance of Uyghurs, including PRC officials living in Uyghur homes for at least six weeks a year. This messaging aims to divert attention from reports regarding the PRC’s “demographic engineering ” campaign to systematically increase the Han Chinese population in Xinjiang and to “dilute ” Uyghur population concentrations in the region.
“Whataboutism” and False Equivalencies Used To Distract/Deflect Criticism
PRC actors, including voluble diplomats in the MFA’s Information Department use “whataboutism” and false equivalencies to distract from the PRC’s policies in Xinjiang and to portray accusers as hypocritical . Their arguments do not advance the case that the PRC is innocent; rather, they make the point that other countries are equally guilty of abuses. Despite these efforts to distract from the situation in Xinjiang, independent media outlets, academics, and human rights activists have published multiple eyewitness accounts and verifiable data that the PRC has imprisoned an estimated one million people and that credible evidence exists of torture , forced sterilization , and other abuses.
PRC MESSENGERS
The PRC’s most aggressive messengers are a subset of PRC diplomatic officials known for their confrontational messaging. Additionally, PRC- and CCP-affiliated media spread Xinjiang-related disinformation on a global scale in at least a dozen languages. To reach and resonate with global audiences, the PRC turns to private media companies and multilingual social media influencers. Trolls take the lead on attacking, stirring controversies, insulting, and harassing netizens to poison the information environment and distract from narratives critical of the PRC.
Subset of PRC Diplomats Lead with Assertive Messaging
Most of the PRC’s diplomatic social media messaging is positive and tends to focus on highlighting good relations with other countries and seeks to burnish the PRC’s image. A minority of MFA officials – dubbed “wolf warriors ” by some commentators – use social media platforms to defend the PRC’s national interests, often in confrontational ways . These individuals are most likely to try to deny, “disprove,” and deflect narratives that run counter to PRC official messaging. For example, to distract from the atrocities in Xinjiang, PRC messengers spread a false narrative claiming that the CIA was trying to foment unrest in Xinjiang in order to bring down the PRC. This aggressive style allows the PRC to experiment with different types of messaging to see what plays well at home and abroad. For example, some MFA officials’ accounts repeatedly spread disinformation and conspiracy theories regarding the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19 and about Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine.
PRC- and CCP-Affiliated Media Spread Xinjiang-Related Disinformation Globally
PRC- and CCP-affiliated media outlets like China Global Television Network, China Daily, China Radio International, and Xinhua produce content in at least 12 languages and devote significant resources to advertising on social media. In February 2021, facing growing international scrutiny over the PRC’s genocide in Xinjiang, Xinhua released a “fact sheet ” containing numerous false claims, such as stating that the internment camps holding Uyghurs in Xinjiang are “vocational education and training centers”’ that have “fully guaranteed the trainees’ personal freedom and dignity.” However, detainees’ testimonies published by Amnesty International allege that the PRC subjected them to regular interrogation, torture, and other mistreatment. The PRC partners with foreign media to republish both PRC-produced and PRC-backed content to local audiences, giving Beijing’s chosen narratives a level of authority and credibility they would not be able to achieve on their own. For example, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation ran a story by an anonymous author in November 2019 on the PRC’s “poverty alleviation ” policy in Xinjiang, causing observers to question its validity and whether it was PRC propaganda.
PRC Increasingly Turns to Private Media Companies To Craft Foreign-Facing Information Manipulation Campaigns
The PRC outsources and privatizes some of its foreign language information operations to take advantage of private sector innovation. The PRC government engages with at least 90 PRC-based firms to design foreign-facing information manipulation campaigns to portray the PRC positively. For example, a publishing organization operated by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Bureau of Radio, Film and Television and affiliated with the CCP’s United Front Work Department paid a marketing company to create videos depicting Uyghurs supporting the PRC government, which a network of inauthentic accounts then amplified on Twitter and YouTube.
Inauthentic Networks Used To Amplify PRC Narratives
Inauthentic networks of bots as well as real accounts that tweet and retweet PRC-approved narratives flood the information space and support astroturfing campaigns. One network of accounts posts information denying atrocities in Xinjiang or accusing “the West” of hypocrisy and another, larger network of accounts amplifies it through retweets and reposting. Stanford University’s Internet Observatory Cyber Policy Center assesses that the PRC’s English-language inauthentic networks have not been successful at gaining traction among foreign audiences.
Influencers Used To Better Reach Young International Audiences
PRC authorities believe social media influencers can help to push PRC messaging to shape local information environments due to their relatability and authenticity. CCP planners seek to adapt how they reach younger media consumers globally and are designing foreign propaganda to be more “youthful” and viral while strictly adhering to political “red lines .” In June 2021, Shen Haixiong, the head of state-run China Media Group – which falls under the direction of the CCP’s Propaganda Department – promoted the use of “multilingual internet celebrity studios ” to enhance the PRC’s image in key regions. Analytics firm Miburo Solutions identified more than 200 third-country influencers affiliated with PRC state media creating social media content in at least 38 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian with an average reach of 309,000 followers. Miburo found that the PRC uses influencers to advance its narratives regarding Xinjiang by obscuring state media employees’ affiliations and by orchestrating pro-PRC Western influencers’ tours of Xinjiang.
Trolls Used To Defend PRC Positions and Attack, Insult, and Harass Critics
Internet trolls mainly working under the auspices of the People’s Liberation Army, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, or the Communist Youth League directly attack critics online. According to the French Military School Strategic Research Institute , PRC trolls’ tactics include defending the PRC, attacking and trying to discredit critics, feeding controversies, insulting, and harassing. The PRC’s Cyberspace Affairs Commission and Central Propaganda Department directly employ an estimated two million people nationwide in this capacity and another 20 million working as part-time “network civilization volunteers .” These forces target the PRC’s domestic audience and Chinese-speaking diaspora communities. In response to the Hong Kong protests in 2019, the PRC started to invest more in influencing users of U.S.-based platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as international platforms, such as VKontakte and Telegram. In 2021, cybersecurity firm FireEye’s Mandiant Threat Intelligence arm and Google’s Threat Analysis Group identified elements of an ongoing PRC-backed information operation that targeted a range of issues, including Xinjiang, in various languages across 30 social media platforms and 40 websites.
]English Report link[/url]
]Chinese Language Report Link[/url]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) actively attempts to manipulate and dominate global discourse on Xinjiang and to discredit independent sources reporting ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity conducted against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. PRC-directed and -affiliated actors lead a coordinated effort to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on Xinjiang, to drown out and marginalize narratives that are critical of the PRC’s repression of Uyghurs, and to harass those critical of the PRC.
MESSAGING TACTICS
PRC messaging tactics seek to drown out critical narratives by both flooding the international information environment to limit access to content that contradicts Beijing’s official line, and by creating an artificial appearance of support for PRC policies. Messengers use sophisticated A.I. -generated images to create the appearance of authenticity of fake user profiles. The PRC works to silence dissent by engaging in digital transnational repression, trolling, and cyberbullying.
Flooding To Drown Out Critical Narratives
The PRC floods conversations to drown out messages it perceives as unfavorable to its interests on search engines and social media feeds, and to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on its treatment of Uyghurs. Pro-PRC stakeholders flood information ecosystems with counternarratives, conspiracy theories, and unrelated news items to suppress narratives detailing PRC authorities’ atrocities in Xinjiang. Government social media accounts, PRC-affiliated media, private accounts, and bot clusters, likely all directed by PRC authorities, assist in this effort.
Astroturfing To Create a False Appearance of Support
To manipulate narratives on Xinjiang, pro-PRC actors engage in “astroturfing ,” or coordinated campaigns of inauthentic posts to create the illusion of widespread grassroots support for a policy, individual, or viewpoint, when no such widespread support exists. Similar to flooding, the PRC uses astroturfing to inundate the information space with “positive stories ” about Xinjiang and the Uyghur population, including manufactured depictions of Uyghurs living “simple happy lives,” as well as posts emphasizing the purported economic gains that the PRC’s policies have brought to Xinjiang. In mid-2021, more than 300 pro-PRC inauthentic accounts posted thousands of videos of Uyghurs seeming to deny abuse in the region and claiming they were “very free.” These videos claimed to show widespread disagreement throughout Xinjiang with claims in international media that Uyghurs were oppressed. However, according to the New York Times and ProPublica , propaganda officials in Xinjiang created most of these videos, which first appeared on PRC-based platforms and then spread to YouTube and Twitter, in order to manipulate public opinion.
A.I. Generated Images Used To Create the Appearance of Authenticity
Since at least January 2021 , pro-PRC networks have used advanced artificial intelligence-generated content, such as ]StyleGAN machine-learning[/url] generated images, to fabricate realistic-looking profile pictures for their inauthentic accounts. Unlike stolen images of real people, these tools create composite images that cannot be traced using a reverse image search, making it harder to determine whether the account is inauthentic. Some of these accounts repeatedly denied the PRC’s atrocities in Xinjiang, falsely asserting that the body of overwhelming and objective independent evidence of the atrocities is simply a fabrication of the United States and its allies.
Transnational Repression, Trolling, and Cyberbullying To Silence Dissent
PRC-sponsored transnational repression targets those who speak out against the PRC, particularly in Chinese diaspora communities , with on- and offline harassment to prevent them from sharing their stories or to intimidate them into self-censorship. Trolling campaigns are designed to silence those who speak out against the PRC, to poison the information environment with bad-faith arguments, and to silence opposing viewpoints. Trolling campaigns frequently evolve into threats of death, rape, or assault; malicious cyber-attacks; and cyberbullying or harassment through doxxing – publishing an individual’s personal information online without their permission, including their full name, home address, or job. In March 2021, the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) publicly questioned several individuals’ claims of maltreatment.
Narrative Focus
PRC Xinjiang narratives focus on denying criticism and amplifying “positive stories” in an attempt to counter accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity. The most aggressive PRC messengers often go on the offensive, creating false equivalencies with the actions of other countries to distract from international criticism of PRC behavior.
Rebutting/Denying Criticism from Independent Media Sources
PRC messengers both post and amplify content that denies claims made by independent media outlets and internationally renowned think tanks. In response to third-party accusations that the PRC subjects Uyghurs to forced labor , a wave of PRC diplomatic accounts , PRC- and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated media organizations , and suspected bot networks posted stories about the mechanized cotton harvesting process in Xinjiang, suggesting that the Xinjiang cotton industry has no need for forced labor. This messaging avoided responding to reports regarding the PRC authorities’ transfer of an estimated 100,000 Uyghurs out of Xinjiang in “coercive labor placements ” to work in factories elsewhere in the PRC.
Amplifying “Positive Stories” To Counter/”Disprove” Accusations of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
PRC actors use hashtags such as #AmazingXinjiang and #Xinjiang to amplify positive stories about Xinjiang and counter independent reporting of allegations of crimes against humanity and genocide by PRC authorities. Stories of a multicultural society living in harmony stand in contrast to the reality of the PRC’s extensive surveillance of Uyghurs, including PRC officials living in Uyghur homes for at least six weeks a year. This messaging aims to divert attention from reports regarding the PRC’s “demographic engineering ” campaign to systematically increase the Han Chinese population in Xinjiang and to “dilute ” Uyghur population concentrations in the region.
“Whataboutism” and False Equivalencies Used To Distract/Deflect Criticism
PRC actors, including voluble diplomats in the MFA’s Information Department use “whataboutism” and false equivalencies to distract from the PRC’s policies in Xinjiang and to portray accusers as hypocritical . Their arguments do not advance the case that the PRC is innocent; rather, they make the point that other countries are equally guilty of abuses. Despite these efforts to distract from the situation in Xinjiang, independent media outlets, academics, and human rights activists have published multiple eyewitness accounts and verifiable data that the PRC has imprisoned an estimated one million people and that credible evidence exists of torture , forced sterilization , and other abuses.
PRC MESSENGERS
The PRC’s most aggressive messengers are a subset of PRC diplomatic officials known for their confrontational messaging. Additionally, PRC- and CCP-affiliated media spread Xinjiang-related disinformation on a global scale in at least a dozen languages. To reach and resonate with global audiences, the PRC turns to private media companies and multilingual social media influencers. Trolls take the lead on attacking, stirring controversies, insulting, and harassing netizens to poison the information environment and distract from narratives critical of the PRC.
Subset of PRC Diplomats Lead with Assertive Messaging
Most of the PRC’s diplomatic social media messaging is positive and tends to focus on highlighting good relations with other countries and seeks to burnish the PRC’s image. A minority of MFA officials – dubbed “wolf warriors ” by some commentators – use social media platforms to defend the PRC’s national interests, often in confrontational ways . These individuals are most likely to try to deny, “disprove,” and deflect narratives that run counter to PRC official messaging. For example, to distract from the atrocities in Xinjiang, PRC messengers spread a false narrative claiming that the CIA was trying to foment unrest in Xinjiang in order to bring down the PRC. This aggressive style allows the PRC to experiment with different types of messaging to see what plays well at home and abroad. For example, some MFA officials’ accounts repeatedly spread disinformation and conspiracy theories regarding the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19 and about Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine.
PRC- and CCP-Affiliated Media Spread Xinjiang-Related Disinformation Globally
PRC- and CCP-affiliated media outlets like China Global Television Network, China Daily, China Radio International, and Xinhua produce content in at least 12 languages and devote significant resources to advertising on social media. In February 2021, facing growing international scrutiny over the PRC’s genocide in Xinjiang, Xinhua released a “fact sheet ” containing numerous false claims, such as stating that the internment camps holding Uyghurs in Xinjiang are “vocational education and training centers”’ that have “fully guaranteed the trainees’ personal freedom and dignity.” However, detainees’ testimonies published by Amnesty International allege that the PRC subjected them to regular interrogation, torture, and other mistreatment. The PRC partners with foreign media to republish both PRC-produced and PRC-backed content to local audiences, giving Beijing’s chosen narratives a level of authority and credibility they would not be able to achieve on their own. For example, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation ran a story by an anonymous author in November 2019 on the PRC’s “poverty alleviation ” policy in Xinjiang, causing observers to question its validity and whether it was PRC propaganda.
PRC Increasingly Turns to Private Media Companies To Craft Foreign-Facing Information Manipulation Campaigns
The PRC outsources and privatizes some of its foreign language information operations to take advantage of private sector innovation. The PRC government engages with at least 90 PRC-based firms to design foreign-facing information manipulation campaigns to portray the PRC positively. For example, a publishing organization operated by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Bureau of Radio, Film and Television and affiliated with the CCP’s United Front Work Department paid a marketing company to create videos depicting Uyghurs supporting the PRC government, which a network of inauthentic accounts then amplified on Twitter and YouTube.
Inauthentic Networks Used To Amplify PRC Narratives
Inauthentic networks of bots as well as real accounts that tweet and retweet PRC-approved narratives flood the information space and support astroturfing campaigns. One network of accounts posts information denying atrocities in Xinjiang or accusing “the West” of hypocrisy and another, larger network of accounts amplifies it through retweets and reposting. Stanford University’s Internet Observatory Cyber Policy Center assesses that the PRC’s English-language inauthentic networks have not been successful at gaining traction among foreign audiences.
Influencers Used To Better Reach Young International Audiences
PRC authorities believe social media influencers can help to push PRC messaging to shape local information environments due to their relatability and authenticity. CCP planners seek to adapt how they reach younger media consumers globally and are designing foreign propaganda to be more “youthful” and viral while strictly adhering to political “red lines .” In June 2021, Shen Haixiong, the head of state-run China Media Group – which falls under the direction of the CCP’s Propaganda Department – promoted the use of “multilingual internet celebrity studios ” to enhance the PRC’s image in key regions. Analytics firm Miburo Solutions identified more than 200 third-country influencers affiliated with PRC state media creating social media content in at least 38 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian with an average reach of 309,000 followers. Miburo found that the PRC uses influencers to advance its narratives regarding Xinjiang by obscuring state media employees’ affiliations and by orchestrating pro-PRC Western influencers’ tours of Xinjiang.
Trolls Used To Defend PRC Positions and Attack, Insult, and Harass Critics
Internet trolls mainly working under the auspices of the People’s Liberation Army, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, or the Communist Youth League directly attack critics online. According to the French Military School Strategic Research Institute , PRC trolls’ tactics include defending the PRC, attacking and trying to discredit critics, feeding controversies, insulting, and harassing. The PRC’s Cyberspace Affairs Commission and Central Propaganda Department directly employ an estimated two million people nationwide in this capacity and another 20 million working as part-time “network civilization volunteers .” These forces target the PRC’s domestic audience and Chinese-speaking diaspora communities. In response to the Hong Kong protests in 2019, the PRC started to invest more in influencing users of U.S.-based platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as international platforms, such as VKontakte and Telegram. In 2021, cybersecurity firm FireEye’s Mandiant Threat Intelligence arm and Google’s Threat Analysis Group identified elements of an ongoing PRC-backed information operation that targeted a range of issues, including Xinjiang, in various languages across 30 social media platforms and 40 websites.
The key points in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
News • kidia posted the article • 0 comments • 773 views • 2022-08-05 05:22
In today's #FeaturedPodcast, Virginia Newman, a trade and white-collar compliance attorney and counsel in the international department at Miller & Chevalier, joins host Gwen Hassan to explore key points in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. https://bit.ly/3vGvscd.
What is human trafficking? What is modern slavery? Where does it show up in the daily life of an organization? Human trafficking doesn't always take the form we first imagine - it can be found at almost any level of an organization's supply chain. What can compliance professionals do to assess human trafficking risk, and how can they leverage the resources of the organizations they work for to help root out this tragic problem? Gwen Hassan is here to help - this is Hidden Traffic.
There has been a debate around which comes first: mapping your supply chain or doing a risk assessment. Rather than making it a chicken or the egg scenario, Virginia believes mapping your supply chain is a part of a risk assessment and due diligence. The first step in performing a risk assessment is discussing your products with your product team; she shares: figuring out which products have high-risk inputs and which ones you should focus on mapping first.
This is especially important for large companies that import and distribute countless products. There may be too many products for everyone to have a fully mapped and detailed supply chain. Taking it one input at a time breaks down the line item list to a more manageable level. view all
What is human trafficking? What is modern slavery? Where does it show up in the daily life of an organization? Human trafficking doesn't always take the form we first imagine - it can be found at almost any level of an organization's supply chain. What can compliance professionals do to assess human trafficking risk, and how can they leverage the resources of the organizations they work for to help root out this tragic problem? Gwen Hassan is here to help - this is Hidden Traffic.
There has been a debate around which comes first: mapping your supply chain or doing a risk assessment. Rather than making it a chicken or the egg scenario, Virginia believes mapping your supply chain is a part of a risk assessment and due diligence. The first step in performing a risk assessment is discussing your products with your product team; she shares: figuring out which products have high-risk inputs and which ones you should focus on mapping first.
This is especially important for large companies that import and distribute countless products. There may be too many products for everyone to have a fully mapped and detailed supply chain. Taking it one input at a time breaks down the line item list to a more manageable level. view all
In today's #FeaturedPodcast, Virginia Newman, a trade and white-collar compliance attorney and counsel in the international department at Miller & Chevalier, joins host Gwen Hassan to explore key points in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. https://bit.ly/3vGvscd.
What is human trafficking? What is modern slavery? Where does it show up in the daily life of an organization? Human trafficking doesn't always take the form we first imagine - it can be found at almost any level of an organization's supply chain. What can compliance professionals do to assess human trafficking risk, and how can they leverage the resources of the organizations they work for to help root out this tragic problem? Gwen Hassan is here to help - this is Hidden Traffic.
There has been a debate around which comes first: mapping your supply chain or doing a risk assessment. Rather than making it a chicken or the egg scenario, Virginia believes mapping your supply chain is a part of a risk assessment and due diligence. The first step in performing a risk assessment is discussing your products with your product team; she shares: figuring out which products have high-risk inputs and which ones you should focus on mapping first.
This is especially important for large companies that import and distribute countless products. There may be too many products for everyone to have a fully mapped and detailed supply chain. Taking it one input at a time breaks down the line item list to a more manageable level.
What is human trafficking? What is modern slavery? Where does it show up in the daily life of an organization? Human trafficking doesn't always take the form we first imagine - it can be found at almost any level of an organization's supply chain. What can compliance professionals do to assess human trafficking risk, and how can they leverage the resources of the organizations they work for to help root out this tragic problem? Gwen Hassan is here to help - this is Hidden Traffic.
There has been a debate around which comes first: mapping your supply chain or doing a risk assessment. Rather than making it a chicken or the egg scenario, Virginia believes mapping your supply chain is a part of a risk assessment and due diligence. The first step in performing a risk assessment is discussing your products with your product team; she shares: figuring out which products have high-risk inputs and which ones you should focus on mapping first.
This is especially important for large companies that import and distribute countless products. There may be too many products for everyone to have a fully mapped and detailed supply chain. Taking it one input at a time breaks down the line item list to a more manageable level.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Database
Articles • kidia posted the article • 0 comments • 734 views • 2022-08-05 05:08
The Uyghur Forced Labor Database brings to light more than 800 companies tied to tainted products from China. Based on this evidence, these companies would not be in compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). Explore the Database: http://jww.org/database
view all
view all
The Uyghur Forced Labor Database brings to light more than 800 companies tied to tainted products from China. Based on this evidence, these companies would not be in compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). Explore the Database: http://jww.org/database
Kurshat Sirajidin, a young Uyghur man. went back to East Turkistan in 2016 to see family. Arrested in July 2021 while working as English teacher in Shanghai.
Uyghur Genocide • leo posted the article • 1 comments • 1157 views • 2023-01-10 13:22
Kurshat Sirajidin, a brilliant young Uyghur man, educated in USA, High school to University, went back to East Turkistan in 2016 to see family. Arrested in July 2021 while working as English teacher in Shanghai. Whereabouts unknown.
view all
view all
Kurshat Sirajidin, a brilliant young Uyghur man, educated in USA, High school to University, went back to East Turkistan in 2016 to see family. Arrested in July 2021 while working as English teacher in Shanghai. Whereabouts unknown.
CECC Annual Report 2022 | AUTHORITIES CONTINUED TO PLACE INDIVIDUALS INTO FORCED LABOR
Human Rights • leo posted the article • 0 comments • 914 views • 2022-11-21 12:56
Full pdf link: https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chi ... 0.pdf
AUTHORITIES CONTINUED TO PLACE INDIVIDUALS INTO FORCED LABOR
According to subsequent research published by Zenz in June 2022, XUAR authorities intensified and institutionalized the place- ment of Turkic Muslims into forced labor situations, likely forcing hundreds of thousands of mass internment camp detainees to work within the XUAR and transferring millions of ‘‘rural surplus labor- ers’’ within and outside of the XUAR. Zenz’s research indicates that authorities increased ‘‘the scope and scale’’ of forced labor transfers in 2021 and published plans to move increasing numbers of rural laborers into industrial work, as well as to train workers in coercive labor programs in higher skilled labor.
GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED FORCED LABOR CONTRAVENES CHINA’S INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS
PRC government-sponsored forced labor contravenes inter- national human rights standards and China’s international obliga- tions. Government-sponsored forced labor programs in the XUAR constitute human trafficking under the Palermo Protocol and a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute. In February 2022, the International Labour Organization (ILO) released the an- nual report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Con- ventions and Recommendations. The Committee expressed its ‘‘. . . deep concern in respect of the policy directions expressed in numerous national and regional policy and regulatory documents . . .’’ with regard to the government’s detention and labor policies among ethnic minorities from the XUAR. The Committee re- quested that the Chinese government review, repeal, and revise its policies in order to serve ethnic minority individuals in the XUAR rather than discriminate against them. According to the report, as a signatory to the ILO’s Discrimination (Employment and Occu- pation) Convention (C111), China is obligated to create a ‘‘. . . na- tional policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment and eliminate discrimination in respect of employment and occupation,’’ and ‘‘. . . to repeal any statutory provisions and modify any admin- istrative instructions or practices which are inconsistent with such policy.’’ In April 2022, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee ratified the ILO’s Forced Labour Convention of 1930 (C029) and Abolition of Forced Labour Convention of 1957 (C105). C029 requires countries to prohibit the use of forced labor and make the use of forced labor ‘‘punishable as a penal offence.’’
Human Trafficking
Countries that ratify C105 are prohibited from using forced labor ‘‘as a means of political coercion or education’’ or ‘‘as a means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination.’’According to a human rights advocate, the PRC’s multiple violations of inter- national human rights standards on forced labor diminished mean- ingful expectations that the government will work in good faith to meet the ILO forced labor conventions. view all
Full pdf link: https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chi ... 0.pdf
AUTHORITIES CONTINUED TO PLACE INDIVIDUALS INTO FORCED LABOR
According to subsequent research published by Zenz in June 2022, XUAR authorities intensified and institutionalized the place- ment of Turkic Muslims into forced labor situations, likely forcing hundreds of thousands of mass internment camp detainees to work within the XUAR and transferring millions of ‘‘rural surplus labor- ers’’ within and outside of the XUAR. Zenz’s research indicates that authorities increased ‘‘the scope and scale’’ of forced labor transfers in 2021 and published plans to move increasing numbers of rural laborers into industrial work, as well as to train workers in coercive labor programs in higher skilled labor.
GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED FORCED LABOR CONTRAVENES CHINA’S INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS
PRC government-sponsored forced labor contravenes inter- national human rights standards and China’s international obliga- tions. Government-sponsored forced labor programs in the XUAR constitute human trafficking under the Palermo Protocol and a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute. In February 2022, the International Labour Organization (ILO) released the an- nual report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Con- ventions and Recommendations. The Committee expressed its ‘‘. . . deep concern in respect of the policy directions expressed in numerous national and regional policy and regulatory documents . . .’’ with regard to the government’s detention and labor policies among ethnic minorities from the XUAR. The Committee re- quested that the Chinese government review, repeal, and revise its policies in order to serve ethnic minority individuals in the XUAR rather than discriminate against them. According to the report, as a signatory to the ILO’s Discrimination (Employment and Occu- pation) Convention (C111), China is obligated to create a ‘‘. . . na- tional policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment and eliminate discrimination in respect of employment and occupation,’’ and ‘‘. . . to repeal any statutory provisions and modify any admin- istrative instructions or practices which are inconsistent with such policy.’’ In April 2022, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee ratified the ILO’s Forced Labour Convention of 1930 (C029) and Abolition of Forced Labour Convention of 1957 (C105). C029 requires countries to prohibit the use of forced labor and make the use of forced labor ‘‘punishable as a penal offence.’’
Human Trafficking
Countries that ratify C105 are prohibited from using forced labor ‘‘as a means of political coercion or education’’ or ‘‘as a means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination.’’According to a human rights advocate, the PRC’s multiple violations of inter- national human rights standards on forced labor diminished mean- ingful expectations that the government will work in good faith to meet the ILO forced labor conventions.
Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps: A Main Tool of Uyghur Oppression
Articles • Dexter posted the article • 0 comments • 826 views • 2022-08-28 23:14
Meet a sinister multi-billion-dollar conglomerate that has its own military force, universities, and jails.
]This original article is from here[/url]
Barracks of a paramilitary unit operated by XPCC. Credits.Beijing’s persecution in Xinjiang is deeply tied in with an organization set up specifically to squeeze out ethnic identities on its westernmost flank.
Shocking proof that the persecution of indigenous Turkic peoples in Xinjiang has been engineered and propelled by an organization specifically set up to squeeze out its indigenous population, has been uncovered by new research.
The extent to which the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), also known as the Bingtuan, originally set up seventy years ago to guard the Western frontiers, has mutated over time to create an “environment of extraordinary terror and oppression” has been laid bare by academics at the Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice.
According to “Until Nothing is Left, China’s Settler Corporation and its Human Rights Violations in the Uyghur Region,” the XPCC, steered by Beijing, but run locally, has evolved to the point whereby even the most intimate moments of Uyghur life are “surveilled, judged, and punished.”
The alarming conclusions of the report found that the small border force set up in 1954 during the Mao era, now functions as an immense multi-billion-dollar conglomerate with thirteen listed companies, and direct and indirect corporate holdings amounting to more than 862,000 entities worldwide.
Originally focused on agriculture and construction, the Bingtuan also now operates corporations in energy, mining, chemicals, oil and gas extraction, logistics, apparel, electronics, wine, food processing, insurance, tourism, and many other sectors. “The goods produced by the XPCC reach far into global supply chains, and XPCC construction projects operate not only in the XUAR but throughout China and across Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa,” note the authors.
Managing one sixth of the region’s total land, one sixth of the region’s total population, and much of its governing structures, the XPCC has its own military force, media networks, and high-quality schools and universities. It runs prisons, distributes and requisitions land, and mobilizes hundreds of thousands of Han from inner China to settle the region, and thereby dilute the indigenous population, building them houses and even cities, and grabbing land from local farmers to do so.
Most troubling, the Bingtuan has been charged with building and running the vast network of so-called re-education centers and forced labor programs that have seen more than a million corralled into ex-judicial detention to face torture and every kind of privation, and many more swallowed up into euphemistically named “poverty alleviation” schemes around China making goods for Western markets.
“All enterprises and investment projects in the region are expected as part of their corporate responsibility to engage in the government’s programs to ‘transform’ and indoctrinate Uyghur people and to ‘transfer’ and coerce them into labor-intensive work,” states the report. Subsidies and incentives are lavished on compliant companies and all entities operating in Bingtuan territory are obliged to perform central roles in the repression inflicted on the Uyghurs and other minoritized citizens.
The human rights violations implicit in its reach earned the XPCC and two of its highest officials sweeping US sanctions in July 2019 thereby banning all products under its umbrella from entering the USA.
The report points out that XPCC products, particularly tomatoes, coal, cotton and wool fabrics cited for export cannot escape tainting global supply chains, and although now forbidden from entering the U.K. and the United States, are polluting trade around the world due to their complex and opaque accountability networks.
One case study after another showing XPCC encroachment on land, its appropriation of scarce water resources, its destruction of ancient and traditional settlements and cultural and religious landmarks prove incontrovertibly that the relentless forward march of the paramilitary corporation, ordered by Beijing, has one end goal, that of the elimination or at the very least total assimilation of the Turkic peoples.
The economic, physical, mental, and emotional effect on the local population has taken its toll as farmers whose families have tilled their land for centuries see bulldozers raze their oasis homes, carved pillars and orchards to build concrete monolithic housing estates for incoming Chinese settlers. Many are even given bonuses if they demolish their own homes, and surrender their land without a whisper, after which they are forcibly relocated to state-run and monitored communities, “sterile, treeless, and anodyne,” say the authors, “maximizing visibility and surveillability.”
The report’s deep dive into the machinations of the XPCC reveal an orchestrated campaign lead by Beijing and collaborated with on the ground, to terrorize every Turkic citizen into shedding their cultural heritage and language in favor of Han practices and Xi Jinping’s vision of a “New Era.”
Xi’s orders to “chop the weeds and destroy their roots, eliminate the evil until nothing is left,” are personified in the roll out of tyranny since 2016 which has seen the XPCC transform the Uyghur region into a virtual open prison. Those who weren’t interned, lived under the spotlight of surveillance and networks of neighborhood snitches, the terror of practicing any religious faith, knocks on the door at midnight, disappearing academics, authors and friends and communities were gripped by the fear of what tomorrow might bring.
Every action and decision was, and still is, laced with the fear that disobedience would mean incarceration without trial. All these charges are laid at the feet of the XPCC by the authors of the report, who urge the international community to stand jointly against the monolith.
“The main purpose of the XPCC is to control, intimidate, disperse, and ultimately break down the Uyghur people until there is nothing left of their culture,” said Laura Murphy, Professor of Human Rights and Contemporary Slavery at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University and one of the authors of the report.
“The corporate empire that it has built on the backs of its forced labor programs has a huge footprint in the global economy, and it’s essential that world leaders in both business and government stand against the XPCC and its violations of human rights. As long as companies around the world continue to source from XPCC subsidiaries, Uyghurs and other local peoples in the region will continue to suffer.”
Direct action and a raft of more sanctions, including import bans on goods grown, processed or manufactured by the XPCC, should be imposed and Magnitsky sanctions widened to include more of its leaders, particularly the chief instigator of the worst excesses of recent clampdowns, former CCP Xinjiang Secretary Chen Quanguo himself, says the report.
Backing the research, 20 co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) from across the political spectrum and the world, have called for urgent action to hold the XPCC to account. Reiterating the need for robust trade measures against the body, to include “export controls against the 2,873 companies internationally in which the XPCC holds a majority stake,” it also advocates reforming modern slavery legislation to ban the import of goods made by the XPCC and other entities responsible for forced labor in the Xinjiang region.
Following the release of the report, Uyghur groups, including the World Uyghur Congress and the End Uyghur Forced Labour coalition have joined forces to call on “all companies in all countries to sever all relationships with XPCC companies and subsidiaries.” view all
]This original article is from here[/url]
Barracks of a paramilitary unit operated by XPCC. Credits.Beijing’s persecution in Xinjiang is deeply tied in with an organization set up specifically to squeeze out ethnic identities on its westernmost flank.
Shocking proof that the persecution of indigenous Turkic peoples in Xinjiang has been engineered and propelled by an organization specifically set up to squeeze out its indigenous population, has been uncovered by new research.
The extent to which the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), also known as the Bingtuan, originally set up seventy years ago to guard the Western frontiers, has mutated over time to create an “environment of extraordinary terror and oppression” has been laid bare by academics at the Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice.
According to “Until Nothing is Left, China’s Settler Corporation and its Human Rights Violations in the Uyghur Region,” the XPCC, steered by Beijing, but run locally, has evolved to the point whereby even the most intimate moments of Uyghur life are “surveilled, judged, and punished.”
The alarming conclusions of the report found that the small border force set up in 1954 during the Mao era, now functions as an immense multi-billion-dollar conglomerate with thirteen listed companies, and direct and indirect corporate holdings amounting to more than 862,000 entities worldwide.
Originally focused on agriculture and construction, the Bingtuan also now operates corporations in energy, mining, chemicals, oil and gas extraction, logistics, apparel, electronics, wine, food processing, insurance, tourism, and many other sectors. “The goods produced by the XPCC reach far into global supply chains, and XPCC construction projects operate not only in the XUAR but throughout China and across Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa,” note the authors.
Managing one sixth of the region’s total land, one sixth of the region’s total population, and much of its governing structures, the XPCC has its own military force, media networks, and high-quality schools and universities. It runs prisons, distributes and requisitions land, and mobilizes hundreds of thousands of Han from inner China to settle the region, and thereby dilute the indigenous population, building them houses and even cities, and grabbing land from local farmers to do so.
Most troubling, the Bingtuan has been charged with building and running the vast network of so-called re-education centers and forced labor programs that have seen more than a million corralled into ex-judicial detention to face torture and every kind of privation, and many more swallowed up into euphemistically named “poverty alleviation” schemes around China making goods for Western markets.
“All enterprises and investment projects in the region are expected as part of their corporate responsibility to engage in the government’s programs to ‘transform’ and indoctrinate Uyghur people and to ‘transfer’ and coerce them into labor-intensive work,” states the report. Subsidies and incentives are lavished on compliant companies and all entities operating in Bingtuan territory are obliged to perform central roles in the repression inflicted on the Uyghurs and other minoritized citizens.
The human rights violations implicit in its reach earned the XPCC and two of its highest officials sweeping US sanctions in July 2019 thereby banning all products under its umbrella from entering the USA.
The report points out that XPCC products, particularly tomatoes, coal, cotton and wool fabrics cited for export cannot escape tainting global supply chains, and although now forbidden from entering the U.K. and the United States, are polluting trade around the world due to their complex and opaque accountability networks.
One case study after another showing XPCC encroachment on land, its appropriation of scarce water resources, its destruction of ancient and traditional settlements and cultural and religious landmarks prove incontrovertibly that the relentless forward march of the paramilitary corporation, ordered by Beijing, has one end goal, that of the elimination or at the very least total assimilation of the Turkic peoples.
The economic, physical, mental, and emotional effect on the local population has taken its toll as farmers whose families have tilled their land for centuries see bulldozers raze their oasis homes, carved pillars and orchards to build concrete monolithic housing estates for incoming Chinese settlers. Many are even given bonuses if they demolish their own homes, and surrender their land without a whisper, after which they are forcibly relocated to state-run and monitored communities, “sterile, treeless, and anodyne,” say the authors, “maximizing visibility and surveillability.”
The report’s deep dive into the machinations of the XPCC reveal an orchestrated campaign lead by Beijing and collaborated with on the ground, to terrorize every Turkic citizen into shedding their cultural heritage and language in favor of Han practices and Xi Jinping’s vision of a “New Era.”
Xi’s orders to “chop the weeds and destroy their roots, eliminate the evil until nothing is left,” are personified in the roll out of tyranny since 2016 which has seen the XPCC transform the Uyghur region into a virtual open prison. Those who weren’t interned, lived under the spotlight of surveillance and networks of neighborhood snitches, the terror of practicing any religious faith, knocks on the door at midnight, disappearing academics, authors and friends and communities were gripped by the fear of what tomorrow might bring.
Every action and decision was, and still is, laced with the fear that disobedience would mean incarceration without trial. All these charges are laid at the feet of the XPCC by the authors of the report, who urge the international community to stand jointly against the monolith.
“The main purpose of the XPCC is to control, intimidate, disperse, and ultimately break down the Uyghur people until there is nothing left of their culture,” said Laura Murphy, Professor of Human Rights and Contemporary Slavery at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University and one of the authors of the report.
“The corporate empire that it has built on the backs of its forced labor programs has a huge footprint in the global economy, and it’s essential that world leaders in both business and government stand against the XPCC and its violations of human rights. As long as companies around the world continue to source from XPCC subsidiaries, Uyghurs and other local peoples in the region will continue to suffer.”
Direct action and a raft of more sanctions, including import bans on goods grown, processed or manufactured by the XPCC, should be imposed and Magnitsky sanctions widened to include more of its leaders, particularly the chief instigator of the worst excesses of recent clampdowns, former CCP Xinjiang Secretary Chen Quanguo himself, says the report.
Backing the research, 20 co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) from across the political spectrum and the world, have called for urgent action to hold the XPCC to account. Reiterating the need for robust trade measures against the body, to include “export controls against the 2,873 companies internationally in which the XPCC holds a majority stake,” it also advocates reforming modern slavery legislation to ban the import of goods made by the XPCC and other entities responsible for forced labor in the Xinjiang region.
Following the release of the report, Uyghur groups, including the World Uyghur Congress and the End Uyghur Forced Labour coalition have joined forces to call on “all companies in all countries to sever all relationships with XPCC companies and subsidiaries.” view all
Meet a sinister multi-billion-dollar conglomerate that has its own military force, universities, and jails.
]This original article is from here[/url]
Barracks of a paramilitary unit operated by XPCC. Credits.Beijing’s persecution in Xinjiang is deeply tied in with an organization set up specifically to squeeze out ethnic identities on its westernmost flank.
Shocking proof that the persecution of indigenous Turkic peoples in Xinjiang has been engineered and propelled by an organization specifically set up to squeeze out its indigenous population, has been uncovered by new research.
The extent to which the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), also known as the Bingtuan, originally set up seventy years ago to guard the Western frontiers, has mutated over time to create an “environment of extraordinary terror and oppression” has been laid bare by academics at the Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice.
According to “Until Nothing is Left, China’s Settler Corporation and its Human Rights Violations in the Uyghur Region,” the XPCC, steered by Beijing, but run locally, has evolved to the point whereby even the most intimate moments of Uyghur life are “surveilled, judged, and punished.”
The alarming conclusions of the report found that the small border force set up in 1954 during the Mao era, now functions as an immense multi-billion-dollar conglomerate with thirteen listed companies, and direct and indirect corporate holdings amounting to more than 862,000 entities worldwide.
Originally focused on agriculture and construction, the Bingtuan also now operates corporations in energy, mining, chemicals, oil and gas extraction, logistics, apparel, electronics, wine, food processing, insurance, tourism, and many other sectors. “The goods produced by the XPCC reach far into global supply chains, and XPCC construction projects operate not only in the XUAR but throughout China and across Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa,” note the authors.
Managing one sixth of the region’s total land, one sixth of the region’s total population, and much of its governing structures, the XPCC has its own military force, media networks, and high-quality schools and universities. It runs prisons, distributes and requisitions land, and mobilizes hundreds of thousands of Han from inner China to settle the region, and thereby dilute the indigenous population, building them houses and even cities, and grabbing land from local farmers to do so.
Most troubling, the Bingtuan has been charged with building and running the vast network of so-called re-education centers and forced labor programs that have seen more than a million corralled into ex-judicial detention to face torture and every kind of privation, and many more swallowed up into euphemistically named “poverty alleviation” schemes around China making goods for Western markets.
“All enterprises and investment projects in the region are expected as part of their corporate responsibility to engage in the government’s programs to ‘transform’ and indoctrinate Uyghur people and to ‘transfer’ and coerce them into labor-intensive work,” states the report. Subsidies and incentives are lavished on compliant companies and all entities operating in Bingtuan territory are obliged to perform central roles in the repression inflicted on the Uyghurs and other minoritized citizens.
The human rights violations implicit in its reach earned the XPCC and two of its highest officials sweeping US sanctions in July 2019 thereby banning all products under its umbrella from entering the USA.
The report points out that XPCC products, particularly tomatoes, coal, cotton and wool fabrics cited for export cannot escape tainting global supply chains, and although now forbidden from entering the U.K. and the United States, are polluting trade around the world due to their complex and opaque accountability networks.
One case study after another showing XPCC encroachment on land, its appropriation of scarce water resources, its destruction of ancient and traditional settlements and cultural and religious landmarks prove incontrovertibly that the relentless forward march of the paramilitary corporation, ordered by Beijing, has one end goal, that of the elimination or at the very least total assimilation of the Turkic peoples.
The economic, physical, mental, and emotional effect on the local population has taken its toll as farmers whose families have tilled their land for centuries see bulldozers raze their oasis homes, carved pillars and orchards to build concrete monolithic housing estates for incoming Chinese settlers. Many are even given bonuses if they demolish their own homes, and surrender their land without a whisper, after which they are forcibly relocated to state-run and monitored communities, “sterile, treeless, and anodyne,” say the authors, “maximizing visibility and surveillability.”
The report’s deep dive into the machinations of the XPCC reveal an orchestrated campaign lead by Beijing and collaborated with on the ground, to terrorize every Turkic citizen into shedding their cultural heritage and language in favor of Han practices and Xi Jinping’s vision of a “New Era.”
Xi’s orders to “chop the weeds and destroy their roots, eliminate the evil until nothing is left,” are personified in the roll out of tyranny since 2016 which has seen the XPCC transform the Uyghur region into a virtual open prison. Those who weren’t interned, lived under the spotlight of surveillance and networks of neighborhood snitches, the terror of practicing any religious faith, knocks on the door at midnight, disappearing academics, authors and friends and communities were gripped by the fear of what tomorrow might bring.
Every action and decision was, and still is, laced with the fear that disobedience would mean incarceration without trial. All these charges are laid at the feet of the XPCC by the authors of the report, who urge the international community to stand jointly against the monolith.
“The main purpose of the XPCC is to control, intimidate, disperse, and ultimately break down the Uyghur people until there is nothing left of their culture,” said Laura Murphy, Professor of Human Rights and Contemporary Slavery at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University and one of the authors of the report.
“The corporate empire that it has built on the backs of its forced labor programs has a huge footprint in the global economy, and it’s essential that world leaders in both business and government stand against the XPCC and its violations of human rights. As long as companies around the world continue to source from XPCC subsidiaries, Uyghurs and other local peoples in the region will continue to suffer.”
Direct action and a raft of more sanctions, including import bans on goods grown, processed or manufactured by the XPCC, should be imposed and Magnitsky sanctions widened to include more of its leaders, particularly the chief instigator of the worst excesses of recent clampdowns, former CCP Xinjiang Secretary Chen Quanguo himself, says the report.
Backing the research, 20 co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) from across the political spectrum and the world, have called for urgent action to hold the XPCC to account. Reiterating the need for robust trade measures against the body, to include “export controls against the 2,873 companies internationally in which the XPCC holds a majority stake,” it also advocates reforming modern slavery legislation to ban the import of goods made by the XPCC and other entities responsible for forced labor in the Xinjiang region.
Following the release of the report, Uyghur groups, including the World Uyghur Congress and the End Uyghur Forced Labour coalition have joined forces to call on “all companies in all countries to sever all relationships with XPCC companies and subsidiaries.”
]This original article is from here[/url]
Barracks of a paramilitary unit operated by XPCC. Credits.Beijing’s persecution in Xinjiang is deeply tied in with an organization set up specifically to squeeze out ethnic identities on its westernmost flank.
Shocking proof that the persecution of indigenous Turkic peoples in Xinjiang has been engineered and propelled by an organization specifically set up to squeeze out its indigenous population, has been uncovered by new research.
The extent to which the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), also known as the Bingtuan, originally set up seventy years ago to guard the Western frontiers, has mutated over time to create an “environment of extraordinary terror and oppression” has been laid bare by academics at the Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice.
According to “Until Nothing is Left, China’s Settler Corporation and its Human Rights Violations in the Uyghur Region,” the XPCC, steered by Beijing, but run locally, has evolved to the point whereby even the most intimate moments of Uyghur life are “surveilled, judged, and punished.”
The alarming conclusions of the report found that the small border force set up in 1954 during the Mao era, now functions as an immense multi-billion-dollar conglomerate with thirteen listed companies, and direct and indirect corporate holdings amounting to more than 862,000 entities worldwide.
Originally focused on agriculture and construction, the Bingtuan also now operates corporations in energy, mining, chemicals, oil and gas extraction, logistics, apparel, electronics, wine, food processing, insurance, tourism, and many other sectors. “The goods produced by the XPCC reach far into global supply chains, and XPCC construction projects operate not only in the XUAR but throughout China and across Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa,” note the authors.
Managing one sixth of the region’s total land, one sixth of the region’s total population, and much of its governing structures, the XPCC has its own military force, media networks, and high-quality schools and universities. It runs prisons, distributes and requisitions land, and mobilizes hundreds of thousands of Han from inner China to settle the region, and thereby dilute the indigenous population, building them houses and even cities, and grabbing land from local farmers to do so.
Most troubling, the Bingtuan has been charged with building and running the vast network of so-called re-education centers and forced labor programs that have seen more than a million corralled into ex-judicial detention to face torture and every kind of privation, and many more swallowed up into euphemistically named “poverty alleviation” schemes around China making goods for Western markets.
“All enterprises and investment projects in the region are expected as part of their corporate responsibility to engage in the government’s programs to ‘transform’ and indoctrinate Uyghur people and to ‘transfer’ and coerce them into labor-intensive work,” states the report. Subsidies and incentives are lavished on compliant companies and all entities operating in Bingtuan territory are obliged to perform central roles in the repression inflicted on the Uyghurs and other minoritized citizens.
The human rights violations implicit in its reach earned the XPCC and two of its highest officials sweeping US sanctions in July 2019 thereby banning all products under its umbrella from entering the USA.
The report points out that XPCC products, particularly tomatoes, coal, cotton and wool fabrics cited for export cannot escape tainting global supply chains, and although now forbidden from entering the U.K. and the United States, are polluting trade around the world due to their complex and opaque accountability networks.
One case study after another showing XPCC encroachment on land, its appropriation of scarce water resources, its destruction of ancient and traditional settlements and cultural and religious landmarks prove incontrovertibly that the relentless forward march of the paramilitary corporation, ordered by Beijing, has one end goal, that of the elimination or at the very least total assimilation of the Turkic peoples.
The economic, physical, mental, and emotional effect on the local population has taken its toll as farmers whose families have tilled their land for centuries see bulldozers raze their oasis homes, carved pillars and orchards to build concrete monolithic housing estates for incoming Chinese settlers. Many are even given bonuses if they demolish their own homes, and surrender their land without a whisper, after which they are forcibly relocated to state-run and monitored communities, “sterile, treeless, and anodyne,” say the authors, “maximizing visibility and surveillability.”
The report’s deep dive into the machinations of the XPCC reveal an orchestrated campaign lead by Beijing and collaborated with on the ground, to terrorize every Turkic citizen into shedding their cultural heritage and language in favor of Han practices and Xi Jinping’s vision of a “New Era.”
Xi’s orders to “chop the weeds and destroy their roots, eliminate the evil until nothing is left,” are personified in the roll out of tyranny since 2016 which has seen the XPCC transform the Uyghur region into a virtual open prison. Those who weren’t interned, lived under the spotlight of surveillance and networks of neighborhood snitches, the terror of practicing any religious faith, knocks on the door at midnight, disappearing academics, authors and friends and communities were gripped by the fear of what tomorrow might bring.
Every action and decision was, and still is, laced with the fear that disobedience would mean incarceration without trial. All these charges are laid at the feet of the XPCC by the authors of the report, who urge the international community to stand jointly against the monolith.
“The main purpose of the XPCC is to control, intimidate, disperse, and ultimately break down the Uyghur people until there is nothing left of their culture,” said Laura Murphy, Professor of Human Rights and Contemporary Slavery at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University and one of the authors of the report.
“The corporate empire that it has built on the backs of its forced labor programs has a huge footprint in the global economy, and it’s essential that world leaders in both business and government stand against the XPCC and its violations of human rights. As long as companies around the world continue to source from XPCC subsidiaries, Uyghurs and other local peoples in the region will continue to suffer.”
Direct action and a raft of more sanctions, including import bans on goods grown, processed or manufactured by the XPCC, should be imposed and Magnitsky sanctions widened to include more of its leaders, particularly the chief instigator of the worst excesses of recent clampdowns, former CCP Xinjiang Secretary Chen Quanguo himself, says the report.
Backing the research, 20 co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) from across the political spectrum and the world, have called for urgent action to hold the XPCC to account. Reiterating the need for robust trade measures against the body, to include “export controls against the 2,873 companies internationally in which the XPCC holds a majority stake,” it also advocates reforming modern slavery legislation to ban the import of goods made by the XPCC and other entities responsible for forced labor in the Xinjiang region.
Following the release of the report, Uyghur groups, including the World Uyghur Congress and the End Uyghur Forced Labour coalition have joined forces to call on “all companies in all countries to sever all relationships with XPCC companies and subsidiaries.”
The U.S. Department of State published a report on CPP efforts to manipulate the global narrative on the Uyghur genocide
News • Dexter posted the article • 0 comments • 744 views • 2022-08-28 22:54
]Arabic Language Report Link[/url]
]English Report link[/url]
]Chinese Language Report Link[/url]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) actively attempts to manipulate and dominate global discourse on Xinjiang and to discredit independent sources reporting ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity conducted against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. PRC-directed and -affiliated actors lead a coordinated effort to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on Xinjiang, to drown out and marginalize narratives that are critical of the PRC’s repression of Uyghurs, and to harass those critical of the PRC.
MESSAGING TACTICS
PRC messaging tactics seek to drown out critical narratives by both flooding the international information environment to limit access to content that contradicts Beijing’s official line, and by creating an artificial appearance of support for PRC policies. Messengers use sophisticated A.I. -generated images to create the appearance of authenticity of fake user profiles. The PRC works to silence dissent by engaging in digital transnational repression, trolling, and cyberbullying.
Flooding To Drown Out Critical Narratives
The PRC floods conversations to drown out messages it perceives as unfavorable to its interests on search engines and social media feeds, and to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on its treatment of Uyghurs. Pro-PRC stakeholders flood information ecosystems with counternarratives, conspiracy theories, and unrelated news items to suppress narratives detailing PRC authorities’ atrocities in Xinjiang. Government social media accounts, PRC-affiliated media, private accounts, and bot clusters, likely all directed by PRC authorities, assist in this effort.
Astroturfing To Create a False Appearance of Support
To manipulate narratives on Xinjiang, pro-PRC actors engage in “astroturfing ,” or coordinated campaigns of inauthentic posts to create the illusion of widespread grassroots support for a policy, individual, or viewpoint, when no such widespread support exists. Similar to flooding, the PRC uses astroturfing to inundate the information space with “positive stories ” about Xinjiang and the Uyghur population, including manufactured depictions of Uyghurs living “simple happy lives,” as well as posts emphasizing the purported economic gains that the PRC’s policies have brought to Xinjiang. In mid-2021, more than 300 pro-PRC inauthentic accounts posted thousands of videos of Uyghurs seeming to deny abuse in the region and claiming they were “very free.” These videos claimed to show widespread disagreement throughout Xinjiang with claims in international media that Uyghurs were oppressed. However, according to the New York Times and ProPublica , propaganda officials in Xinjiang created most of these videos, which first appeared on PRC-based platforms and then spread to YouTube and Twitter, in order to manipulate public opinion.
A.I. Generated Images Used To Create the Appearance of Authenticity
Since at least January 2021 , pro-PRC networks have used advanced artificial intelligence-generated content, such as ]StyleGAN machine-learning[/url] generated images, to fabricate realistic-looking profile pictures for their inauthentic accounts. Unlike stolen images of real people, these tools create composite images that cannot be traced using a reverse image search, making it harder to determine whether the account is inauthentic. Some of these accounts repeatedly denied the PRC’s atrocities in Xinjiang, falsely asserting that the body of overwhelming and objective independent evidence of the atrocities is simply a fabrication of the United States and its allies.
Transnational Repression, Trolling, and Cyberbullying To Silence Dissent
PRC-sponsored transnational repression targets those who speak out against the PRC, particularly in Chinese diaspora communities , with on- and offline harassment to prevent them from sharing their stories or to intimidate them into self-censorship. Trolling campaigns are designed to silence those who speak out against the PRC, to poison the information environment with bad-faith arguments, and to silence opposing viewpoints. Trolling campaigns frequently evolve into threats of death, rape, or assault; malicious cyber-attacks; and cyberbullying or harassment through doxxing – publishing an individual’s personal information online without their permission, including their full name, home address, or job. In March 2021, the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) publicly questioned several individuals’ claims of maltreatment.
Narrative Focus
PRC Xinjiang narratives focus on denying criticism and amplifying “positive stories” in an attempt to counter accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity. The most aggressive PRC messengers often go on the offensive, creating false equivalencies with the actions of other countries to distract from international criticism of PRC behavior.
Rebutting/Denying Criticism from Independent Media Sources
PRC messengers both post and amplify content that denies claims made by independent media outlets and internationally renowned think tanks. In response to third-party accusations that the PRC subjects Uyghurs to forced labor , a wave of PRC diplomatic accounts , PRC- and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated media organizations , and suspected bot networks posted stories about the mechanized cotton harvesting process in Xinjiang, suggesting that the Xinjiang cotton industry has no need for forced labor. This messaging avoided responding to reports regarding the PRC authorities’ transfer of an estimated 100,000 Uyghurs out of Xinjiang in “coercive labor placements ” to work in factories elsewhere in the PRC.
Amplifying “Positive Stories” To Counter/”Disprove” Accusations of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
PRC actors use hashtags such as #AmazingXinjiang and #Xinjiang to amplify positive stories about Xinjiang and counter independent reporting of allegations of crimes against humanity and genocide by PRC authorities. Stories of a multicultural society living in harmony stand in contrast to the reality of the PRC’s extensive surveillance of Uyghurs, including PRC officials living in Uyghur homes for at least six weeks a year. This messaging aims to divert attention from reports regarding the PRC’s “demographic engineering ” campaign to systematically increase the Han Chinese population in Xinjiang and to “dilute ” Uyghur population concentrations in the region.
“Whataboutism” and False Equivalencies Used To Distract/Deflect Criticism
PRC actors, including voluble diplomats in the MFA’s Information Department use “whataboutism” and false equivalencies to distract from the PRC’s policies in Xinjiang and to portray accusers as hypocritical . Their arguments do not advance the case that the PRC is innocent; rather, they make the point that other countries are equally guilty of abuses. Despite these efforts to distract from the situation in Xinjiang, independent media outlets, academics, and human rights activists have published multiple eyewitness accounts and verifiable data that the PRC has imprisoned an estimated one million people and that credible evidence exists of torture , forced sterilization , and other abuses.
PRC MESSENGERS
The PRC’s most aggressive messengers are a subset of PRC diplomatic officials known for their confrontational messaging. Additionally, PRC- and CCP-affiliated media spread Xinjiang-related disinformation on a global scale in at least a dozen languages. To reach and resonate with global audiences, the PRC turns to private media companies and multilingual social media influencers. Trolls take the lead on attacking, stirring controversies, insulting, and harassing netizens to poison the information environment and distract from narratives critical of the PRC.
Subset of PRC Diplomats Lead with Assertive Messaging
Most of the PRC’s diplomatic social media messaging is positive and tends to focus on highlighting good relations with other countries and seeks to burnish the PRC’s image. A minority of MFA officials – dubbed “wolf warriors ” by some commentators – use social media platforms to defend the PRC’s national interests, often in confrontational ways . These individuals are most likely to try to deny, “disprove,” and deflect narratives that run counter to PRC official messaging. For example, to distract from the atrocities in Xinjiang, PRC messengers spread a false narrative claiming that the CIA was trying to foment unrest in Xinjiang in order to bring down the PRC. This aggressive style allows the PRC to experiment with different types of messaging to see what plays well at home and abroad. For example, some MFA officials’ accounts repeatedly spread disinformation and conspiracy theories regarding the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19 and about Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine.
PRC- and CCP-Affiliated Media Spread Xinjiang-Related Disinformation Globally
PRC- and CCP-affiliated media outlets like China Global Television Network, China Daily, China Radio International, and Xinhua produce content in at least 12 languages and devote significant resources to advertising on social media. In February 2021, facing growing international scrutiny over the PRC’s genocide in Xinjiang, Xinhua released a “fact sheet ” containing numerous false claims, such as stating that the internment camps holding Uyghurs in Xinjiang are “vocational education and training centers”’ that have “fully guaranteed the trainees’ personal freedom and dignity.” However, detainees’ testimonies published by Amnesty International allege that the PRC subjected them to regular interrogation, torture, and other mistreatment. The PRC partners with foreign media to republish both PRC-produced and PRC-backed content to local audiences, giving Beijing’s chosen narratives a level of authority and credibility they would not be able to achieve on their own. For example, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation ran a story by an anonymous author in November 2019 on the PRC’s “poverty alleviation ” policy in Xinjiang, causing observers to question its validity and whether it was PRC propaganda.
PRC Increasingly Turns to Private Media Companies To Craft Foreign-Facing Information Manipulation Campaigns
The PRC outsources and privatizes some of its foreign language information operations to take advantage of private sector innovation. The PRC government engages with at least 90 PRC-based firms to design foreign-facing information manipulation campaigns to portray the PRC positively. For example, a publishing organization operated by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Bureau of Radio, Film and Television and affiliated with the CCP’s United Front Work Department paid a marketing company to create videos depicting Uyghurs supporting the PRC government, which a network of inauthentic accounts then amplified on Twitter and YouTube.
Inauthentic Networks Used To Amplify PRC Narratives
Inauthentic networks of bots as well as real accounts that tweet and retweet PRC-approved narratives flood the information space and support astroturfing campaigns. One network of accounts posts information denying atrocities in Xinjiang or accusing “the West” of hypocrisy and another, larger network of accounts amplifies it through retweets and reposting. Stanford University’s Internet Observatory Cyber Policy Center assesses that the PRC’s English-language inauthentic networks have not been successful at gaining traction among foreign audiences.
Influencers Used To Better Reach Young International Audiences
PRC authorities believe social media influencers can help to push PRC messaging to shape local information environments due to their relatability and authenticity. CCP planners seek to adapt how they reach younger media consumers globally and are designing foreign propaganda to be more “youthful” and viral while strictly adhering to political “red lines .” In June 2021, Shen Haixiong, the head of state-run China Media Group – which falls under the direction of the CCP’s Propaganda Department – promoted the use of “multilingual internet celebrity studios ” to enhance the PRC’s image in key regions. Analytics firm Miburo Solutions identified more than 200 third-country influencers affiliated with PRC state media creating social media content in at least 38 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian with an average reach of 309,000 followers. Miburo found that the PRC uses influencers to advance its narratives regarding Xinjiang by obscuring state media employees’ affiliations and by orchestrating pro-PRC Western influencers’ tours of Xinjiang.
Trolls Used To Defend PRC Positions and Attack, Insult, and Harass Critics
Internet trolls mainly working under the auspices of the People’s Liberation Army, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, or the Communist Youth League directly attack critics online. According to the French Military School Strategic Research Institute , PRC trolls’ tactics include defending the PRC, attacking and trying to discredit critics, feeding controversies, insulting, and harassing. The PRC’s Cyberspace Affairs Commission and Central Propaganda Department directly employ an estimated two million people nationwide in this capacity and another 20 million working as part-time “network civilization volunteers .” These forces target the PRC’s domestic audience and Chinese-speaking diaspora communities. In response to the Hong Kong protests in 2019, the PRC started to invest more in influencing users of U.S.-based platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as international platforms, such as VKontakte and Telegram. In 2021, cybersecurity firm FireEye’s Mandiant Threat Intelligence arm and Google’s Threat Analysis Group identified elements of an ongoing PRC-backed information operation that targeted a range of issues, including Xinjiang, in various languages across 30 social media platforms and 40 websites. view all
]English Report link[/url]
]Chinese Language Report Link[/url]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) actively attempts to manipulate and dominate global discourse on Xinjiang and to discredit independent sources reporting ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity conducted against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. PRC-directed and -affiliated actors lead a coordinated effort to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on Xinjiang, to drown out and marginalize narratives that are critical of the PRC’s repression of Uyghurs, and to harass those critical of the PRC.
MESSAGING TACTICS
PRC messaging tactics seek to drown out critical narratives by both flooding the international information environment to limit access to content that contradicts Beijing’s official line, and by creating an artificial appearance of support for PRC policies. Messengers use sophisticated A.I. -generated images to create the appearance of authenticity of fake user profiles. The PRC works to silence dissent by engaging in digital transnational repression, trolling, and cyberbullying.
Flooding To Drown Out Critical Narratives
The PRC floods conversations to drown out messages it perceives as unfavorable to its interests on search engines and social media feeds, and to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on its treatment of Uyghurs. Pro-PRC stakeholders flood information ecosystems with counternarratives, conspiracy theories, and unrelated news items to suppress narratives detailing PRC authorities’ atrocities in Xinjiang. Government social media accounts, PRC-affiliated media, private accounts, and bot clusters, likely all directed by PRC authorities, assist in this effort.
Astroturfing To Create a False Appearance of Support
To manipulate narratives on Xinjiang, pro-PRC actors engage in “astroturfing ,” or coordinated campaigns of inauthentic posts to create the illusion of widespread grassroots support for a policy, individual, or viewpoint, when no such widespread support exists. Similar to flooding, the PRC uses astroturfing to inundate the information space with “positive stories ” about Xinjiang and the Uyghur population, including manufactured depictions of Uyghurs living “simple happy lives,” as well as posts emphasizing the purported economic gains that the PRC’s policies have brought to Xinjiang. In mid-2021, more than 300 pro-PRC inauthentic accounts posted thousands of videos of Uyghurs seeming to deny abuse in the region and claiming they were “very free.” These videos claimed to show widespread disagreement throughout Xinjiang with claims in international media that Uyghurs were oppressed. However, according to the New York Times and ProPublica , propaganda officials in Xinjiang created most of these videos, which first appeared on PRC-based platforms and then spread to YouTube and Twitter, in order to manipulate public opinion.
A.I. Generated Images Used To Create the Appearance of Authenticity
Since at least January 2021 , pro-PRC networks have used advanced artificial intelligence-generated content, such as ]StyleGAN machine-learning[/url] generated images, to fabricate realistic-looking profile pictures for their inauthentic accounts. Unlike stolen images of real people, these tools create composite images that cannot be traced using a reverse image search, making it harder to determine whether the account is inauthentic. Some of these accounts repeatedly denied the PRC’s atrocities in Xinjiang, falsely asserting that the body of overwhelming and objective independent evidence of the atrocities is simply a fabrication of the United States and its allies.
Transnational Repression, Trolling, and Cyberbullying To Silence Dissent
PRC-sponsored transnational repression targets those who speak out against the PRC, particularly in Chinese diaspora communities , with on- and offline harassment to prevent them from sharing their stories or to intimidate them into self-censorship. Trolling campaigns are designed to silence those who speak out against the PRC, to poison the information environment with bad-faith arguments, and to silence opposing viewpoints. Trolling campaigns frequently evolve into threats of death, rape, or assault; malicious cyber-attacks; and cyberbullying or harassment through doxxing – publishing an individual’s personal information online without their permission, including their full name, home address, or job. In March 2021, the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) publicly questioned several individuals’ claims of maltreatment.
Narrative Focus
PRC Xinjiang narratives focus on denying criticism and amplifying “positive stories” in an attempt to counter accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity. The most aggressive PRC messengers often go on the offensive, creating false equivalencies with the actions of other countries to distract from international criticism of PRC behavior.
Rebutting/Denying Criticism from Independent Media Sources
PRC messengers both post and amplify content that denies claims made by independent media outlets and internationally renowned think tanks. In response to third-party accusations that the PRC subjects Uyghurs to forced labor , a wave of PRC diplomatic accounts , PRC- and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated media organizations , and suspected bot networks posted stories about the mechanized cotton harvesting process in Xinjiang, suggesting that the Xinjiang cotton industry has no need for forced labor. This messaging avoided responding to reports regarding the PRC authorities’ transfer of an estimated 100,000 Uyghurs out of Xinjiang in “coercive labor placements ” to work in factories elsewhere in the PRC.
Amplifying “Positive Stories” To Counter/”Disprove” Accusations of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
PRC actors use hashtags such as #AmazingXinjiang and #Xinjiang to amplify positive stories about Xinjiang and counter independent reporting of allegations of crimes against humanity and genocide by PRC authorities. Stories of a multicultural society living in harmony stand in contrast to the reality of the PRC’s extensive surveillance of Uyghurs, including PRC officials living in Uyghur homes for at least six weeks a year. This messaging aims to divert attention from reports regarding the PRC’s “demographic engineering ” campaign to systematically increase the Han Chinese population in Xinjiang and to “dilute ” Uyghur population concentrations in the region.
“Whataboutism” and False Equivalencies Used To Distract/Deflect Criticism
PRC actors, including voluble diplomats in the MFA’s Information Department use “whataboutism” and false equivalencies to distract from the PRC’s policies in Xinjiang and to portray accusers as hypocritical . Their arguments do not advance the case that the PRC is innocent; rather, they make the point that other countries are equally guilty of abuses. Despite these efforts to distract from the situation in Xinjiang, independent media outlets, academics, and human rights activists have published multiple eyewitness accounts and verifiable data that the PRC has imprisoned an estimated one million people and that credible evidence exists of torture , forced sterilization , and other abuses.
PRC MESSENGERS
The PRC’s most aggressive messengers are a subset of PRC diplomatic officials known for their confrontational messaging. Additionally, PRC- and CCP-affiliated media spread Xinjiang-related disinformation on a global scale in at least a dozen languages. To reach and resonate with global audiences, the PRC turns to private media companies and multilingual social media influencers. Trolls take the lead on attacking, stirring controversies, insulting, and harassing netizens to poison the information environment and distract from narratives critical of the PRC.
Subset of PRC Diplomats Lead with Assertive Messaging
Most of the PRC’s diplomatic social media messaging is positive and tends to focus on highlighting good relations with other countries and seeks to burnish the PRC’s image. A minority of MFA officials – dubbed “wolf warriors ” by some commentators – use social media platforms to defend the PRC’s national interests, often in confrontational ways . These individuals are most likely to try to deny, “disprove,” and deflect narratives that run counter to PRC official messaging. For example, to distract from the atrocities in Xinjiang, PRC messengers spread a false narrative claiming that the CIA was trying to foment unrest in Xinjiang in order to bring down the PRC. This aggressive style allows the PRC to experiment with different types of messaging to see what plays well at home and abroad. For example, some MFA officials’ accounts repeatedly spread disinformation and conspiracy theories regarding the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19 and about Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine.
PRC- and CCP-Affiliated Media Spread Xinjiang-Related Disinformation Globally
PRC- and CCP-affiliated media outlets like China Global Television Network, China Daily, China Radio International, and Xinhua produce content in at least 12 languages and devote significant resources to advertising on social media. In February 2021, facing growing international scrutiny over the PRC’s genocide in Xinjiang, Xinhua released a “fact sheet ” containing numerous false claims, such as stating that the internment camps holding Uyghurs in Xinjiang are “vocational education and training centers”’ that have “fully guaranteed the trainees’ personal freedom and dignity.” However, detainees’ testimonies published by Amnesty International allege that the PRC subjected them to regular interrogation, torture, and other mistreatment. The PRC partners with foreign media to republish both PRC-produced and PRC-backed content to local audiences, giving Beijing’s chosen narratives a level of authority and credibility they would not be able to achieve on their own. For example, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation ran a story by an anonymous author in November 2019 on the PRC’s “poverty alleviation ” policy in Xinjiang, causing observers to question its validity and whether it was PRC propaganda.
PRC Increasingly Turns to Private Media Companies To Craft Foreign-Facing Information Manipulation Campaigns
The PRC outsources and privatizes some of its foreign language information operations to take advantage of private sector innovation. The PRC government engages with at least 90 PRC-based firms to design foreign-facing information manipulation campaigns to portray the PRC positively. For example, a publishing organization operated by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Bureau of Radio, Film and Television and affiliated with the CCP’s United Front Work Department paid a marketing company to create videos depicting Uyghurs supporting the PRC government, which a network of inauthentic accounts then amplified on Twitter and YouTube.
Inauthentic Networks Used To Amplify PRC Narratives
Inauthentic networks of bots as well as real accounts that tweet and retweet PRC-approved narratives flood the information space and support astroturfing campaigns. One network of accounts posts information denying atrocities in Xinjiang or accusing “the West” of hypocrisy and another, larger network of accounts amplifies it through retweets and reposting. Stanford University’s Internet Observatory Cyber Policy Center assesses that the PRC’s English-language inauthentic networks have not been successful at gaining traction among foreign audiences.
Influencers Used To Better Reach Young International Audiences
PRC authorities believe social media influencers can help to push PRC messaging to shape local information environments due to their relatability and authenticity. CCP planners seek to adapt how they reach younger media consumers globally and are designing foreign propaganda to be more “youthful” and viral while strictly adhering to political “red lines .” In June 2021, Shen Haixiong, the head of state-run China Media Group – which falls under the direction of the CCP’s Propaganda Department – promoted the use of “multilingual internet celebrity studios ” to enhance the PRC’s image in key regions. Analytics firm Miburo Solutions identified more than 200 third-country influencers affiliated with PRC state media creating social media content in at least 38 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian with an average reach of 309,000 followers. Miburo found that the PRC uses influencers to advance its narratives regarding Xinjiang by obscuring state media employees’ affiliations and by orchestrating pro-PRC Western influencers’ tours of Xinjiang.
Trolls Used To Defend PRC Positions and Attack, Insult, and Harass Critics
Internet trolls mainly working under the auspices of the People’s Liberation Army, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, or the Communist Youth League directly attack critics online. According to the French Military School Strategic Research Institute , PRC trolls’ tactics include defending the PRC, attacking and trying to discredit critics, feeding controversies, insulting, and harassing. The PRC’s Cyberspace Affairs Commission and Central Propaganda Department directly employ an estimated two million people nationwide in this capacity and another 20 million working as part-time “network civilization volunteers .” These forces target the PRC’s domestic audience and Chinese-speaking diaspora communities. In response to the Hong Kong protests in 2019, the PRC started to invest more in influencing users of U.S.-based platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as international platforms, such as VKontakte and Telegram. In 2021, cybersecurity firm FireEye’s Mandiant Threat Intelligence arm and Google’s Threat Analysis Group identified elements of an ongoing PRC-backed information operation that targeted a range of issues, including Xinjiang, in various languages across 30 social media platforms and 40 websites. view all
]Arabic Language Report Link[/url]
]English Report link[/url]
]Chinese Language Report Link[/url]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) actively attempts to manipulate and dominate global discourse on Xinjiang and to discredit independent sources reporting ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity conducted against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. PRC-directed and -affiliated actors lead a coordinated effort to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on Xinjiang, to drown out and marginalize narratives that are critical of the PRC’s repression of Uyghurs, and to harass those critical of the PRC.
MESSAGING TACTICS
PRC messaging tactics seek to drown out critical narratives by both flooding the international information environment to limit access to content that contradicts Beijing’s official line, and by creating an artificial appearance of support for PRC policies. Messengers use sophisticated A.I. -generated images to create the appearance of authenticity of fake user profiles. The PRC works to silence dissent by engaging in digital transnational repression, trolling, and cyberbullying.
Flooding To Drown Out Critical Narratives
The PRC floods conversations to drown out messages it perceives as unfavorable to its interests on search engines and social media feeds, and to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on its treatment of Uyghurs. Pro-PRC stakeholders flood information ecosystems with counternarratives, conspiracy theories, and unrelated news items to suppress narratives detailing PRC authorities’ atrocities in Xinjiang. Government social media accounts, PRC-affiliated media, private accounts, and bot clusters, likely all directed by PRC authorities, assist in this effort.
Astroturfing To Create a False Appearance of Support
To manipulate narratives on Xinjiang, pro-PRC actors engage in “astroturfing ,” or coordinated campaigns of inauthentic posts to create the illusion of widespread grassroots support for a policy, individual, or viewpoint, when no such widespread support exists. Similar to flooding, the PRC uses astroturfing to inundate the information space with “positive stories ” about Xinjiang and the Uyghur population, including manufactured depictions of Uyghurs living “simple happy lives,” as well as posts emphasizing the purported economic gains that the PRC’s policies have brought to Xinjiang. In mid-2021, more than 300 pro-PRC inauthentic accounts posted thousands of videos of Uyghurs seeming to deny abuse in the region and claiming they were “very free.” These videos claimed to show widespread disagreement throughout Xinjiang with claims in international media that Uyghurs were oppressed. However, according to the New York Times and ProPublica , propaganda officials in Xinjiang created most of these videos, which first appeared on PRC-based platforms and then spread to YouTube and Twitter, in order to manipulate public opinion.
A.I. Generated Images Used To Create the Appearance of Authenticity
Since at least January 2021 , pro-PRC networks have used advanced artificial intelligence-generated content, such as ]StyleGAN machine-learning[/url] generated images, to fabricate realistic-looking profile pictures for their inauthentic accounts. Unlike stolen images of real people, these tools create composite images that cannot be traced using a reverse image search, making it harder to determine whether the account is inauthentic. Some of these accounts repeatedly denied the PRC’s atrocities in Xinjiang, falsely asserting that the body of overwhelming and objective independent evidence of the atrocities is simply a fabrication of the United States and its allies.
Transnational Repression, Trolling, and Cyberbullying To Silence Dissent
PRC-sponsored transnational repression targets those who speak out against the PRC, particularly in Chinese diaspora communities , with on- and offline harassment to prevent them from sharing their stories or to intimidate them into self-censorship. Trolling campaigns are designed to silence those who speak out against the PRC, to poison the information environment with bad-faith arguments, and to silence opposing viewpoints. Trolling campaigns frequently evolve into threats of death, rape, or assault; malicious cyber-attacks; and cyberbullying or harassment through doxxing – publishing an individual’s personal information online without their permission, including their full name, home address, or job. In March 2021, the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) publicly questioned several individuals’ claims of maltreatment.
Narrative Focus
PRC Xinjiang narratives focus on denying criticism and amplifying “positive stories” in an attempt to counter accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity. The most aggressive PRC messengers often go on the offensive, creating false equivalencies with the actions of other countries to distract from international criticism of PRC behavior.
Rebutting/Denying Criticism from Independent Media Sources
PRC messengers both post and amplify content that denies claims made by independent media outlets and internationally renowned think tanks. In response to third-party accusations that the PRC subjects Uyghurs to forced labor , a wave of PRC diplomatic accounts , PRC- and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated media organizations , and suspected bot networks posted stories about the mechanized cotton harvesting process in Xinjiang, suggesting that the Xinjiang cotton industry has no need for forced labor. This messaging avoided responding to reports regarding the PRC authorities’ transfer of an estimated 100,000 Uyghurs out of Xinjiang in “coercive labor placements ” to work in factories elsewhere in the PRC.
Amplifying “Positive Stories” To Counter/”Disprove” Accusations of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
PRC actors use hashtags such as #AmazingXinjiang and #Xinjiang to amplify positive stories about Xinjiang and counter independent reporting of allegations of crimes against humanity and genocide by PRC authorities. Stories of a multicultural society living in harmony stand in contrast to the reality of the PRC’s extensive surveillance of Uyghurs, including PRC officials living in Uyghur homes for at least six weeks a year. This messaging aims to divert attention from reports regarding the PRC’s “demographic engineering ” campaign to systematically increase the Han Chinese population in Xinjiang and to “dilute ” Uyghur population concentrations in the region.
“Whataboutism” and False Equivalencies Used To Distract/Deflect Criticism
PRC actors, including voluble diplomats in the MFA’s Information Department use “whataboutism” and false equivalencies to distract from the PRC’s policies in Xinjiang and to portray accusers as hypocritical . Their arguments do not advance the case that the PRC is innocent; rather, they make the point that other countries are equally guilty of abuses. Despite these efforts to distract from the situation in Xinjiang, independent media outlets, academics, and human rights activists have published multiple eyewitness accounts and verifiable data that the PRC has imprisoned an estimated one million people and that credible evidence exists of torture , forced sterilization , and other abuses.
PRC MESSENGERS
The PRC’s most aggressive messengers are a subset of PRC diplomatic officials known for their confrontational messaging. Additionally, PRC- and CCP-affiliated media spread Xinjiang-related disinformation on a global scale in at least a dozen languages. To reach and resonate with global audiences, the PRC turns to private media companies and multilingual social media influencers. Trolls take the lead on attacking, stirring controversies, insulting, and harassing netizens to poison the information environment and distract from narratives critical of the PRC.
Subset of PRC Diplomats Lead with Assertive Messaging
Most of the PRC’s diplomatic social media messaging is positive and tends to focus on highlighting good relations with other countries and seeks to burnish the PRC’s image. A minority of MFA officials – dubbed “wolf warriors ” by some commentators – use social media platforms to defend the PRC’s national interests, often in confrontational ways . These individuals are most likely to try to deny, “disprove,” and deflect narratives that run counter to PRC official messaging. For example, to distract from the atrocities in Xinjiang, PRC messengers spread a false narrative claiming that the CIA was trying to foment unrest in Xinjiang in order to bring down the PRC. This aggressive style allows the PRC to experiment with different types of messaging to see what plays well at home and abroad. For example, some MFA officials’ accounts repeatedly spread disinformation and conspiracy theories regarding the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19 and about Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine.
PRC- and CCP-Affiliated Media Spread Xinjiang-Related Disinformation Globally
PRC- and CCP-affiliated media outlets like China Global Television Network, China Daily, China Radio International, and Xinhua produce content in at least 12 languages and devote significant resources to advertising on social media. In February 2021, facing growing international scrutiny over the PRC’s genocide in Xinjiang, Xinhua released a “fact sheet ” containing numerous false claims, such as stating that the internment camps holding Uyghurs in Xinjiang are “vocational education and training centers”’ that have “fully guaranteed the trainees’ personal freedom and dignity.” However, detainees’ testimonies published by Amnesty International allege that the PRC subjected them to regular interrogation, torture, and other mistreatment. The PRC partners with foreign media to republish both PRC-produced and PRC-backed content to local audiences, giving Beijing’s chosen narratives a level of authority and credibility they would not be able to achieve on their own. For example, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation ran a story by an anonymous author in November 2019 on the PRC’s “poverty alleviation ” policy in Xinjiang, causing observers to question its validity and whether it was PRC propaganda.
PRC Increasingly Turns to Private Media Companies To Craft Foreign-Facing Information Manipulation Campaigns
The PRC outsources and privatizes some of its foreign language information operations to take advantage of private sector innovation. The PRC government engages with at least 90 PRC-based firms to design foreign-facing information manipulation campaigns to portray the PRC positively. For example, a publishing organization operated by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Bureau of Radio, Film and Television and affiliated with the CCP’s United Front Work Department paid a marketing company to create videos depicting Uyghurs supporting the PRC government, which a network of inauthentic accounts then amplified on Twitter and YouTube.
Inauthentic Networks Used To Amplify PRC Narratives
Inauthentic networks of bots as well as real accounts that tweet and retweet PRC-approved narratives flood the information space and support astroturfing campaigns. One network of accounts posts information denying atrocities in Xinjiang or accusing “the West” of hypocrisy and another, larger network of accounts amplifies it through retweets and reposting. Stanford University’s Internet Observatory Cyber Policy Center assesses that the PRC’s English-language inauthentic networks have not been successful at gaining traction among foreign audiences.
Influencers Used To Better Reach Young International Audiences
PRC authorities believe social media influencers can help to push PRC messaging to shape local information environments due to their relatability and authenticity. CCP planners seek to adapt how they reach younger media consumers globally and are designing foreign propaganda to be more “youthful” and viral while strictly adhering to political “red lines .” In June 2021, Shen Haixiong, the head of state-run China Media Group – which falls under the direction of the CCP’s Propaganda Department – promoted the use of “multilingual internet celebrity studios ” to enhance the PRC’s image in key regions. Analytics firm Miburo Solutions identified more than 200 third-country influencers affiliated with PRC state media creating social media content in at least 38 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian with an average reach of 309,000 followers. Miburo found that the PRC uses influencers to advance its narratives regarding Xinjiang by obscuring state media employees’ affiliations and by orchestrating pro-PRC Western influencers’ tours of Xinjiang.
Trolls Used To Defend PRC Positions and Attack, Insult, and Harass Critics
Internet trolls mainly working under the auspices of the People’s Liberation Army, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, or the Communist Youth League directly attack critics online. According to the French Military School Strategic Research Institute , PRC trolls’ tactics include defending the PRC, attacking and trying to discredit critics, feeding controversies, insulting, and harassing. The PRC’s Cyberspace Affairs Commission and Central Propaganda Department directly employ an estimated two million people nationwide in this capacity and another 20 million working as part-time “network civilization volunteers .” These forces target the PRC’s domestic audience and Chinese-speaking diaspora communities. In response to the Hong Kong protests in 2019, the PRC started to invest more in influencing users of U.S.-based platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as international platforms, such as VKontakte and Telegram. In 2021, cybersecurity firm FireEye’s Mandiant Threat Intelligence arm and Google’s Threat Analysis Group identified elements of an ongoing PRC-backed information operation that targeted a range of issues, including Xinjiang, in various languages across 30 social media platforms and 40 websites.
]English Report link[/url]
]Chinese Language Report Link[/url]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) actively attempts to manipulate and dominate global discourse on Xinjiang and to discredit independent sources reporting ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity conducted against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. PRC-directed and -affiliated actors lead a coordinated effort to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on Xinjiang, to drown out and marginalize narratives that are critical of the PRC’s repression of Uyghurs, and to harass those critical of the PRC.
MESSAGING TACTICS
PRC messaging tactics seek to drown out critical narratives by both flooding the international information environment to limit access to content that contradicts Beijing’s official line, and by creating an artificial appearance of support for PRC policies. Messengers use sophisticated A.I. -generated images to create the appearance of authenticity of fake user profiles. The PRC works to silence dissent by engaging in digital transnational repression, trolling, and cyberbullying.
Flooding To Drown Out Critical Narratives
The PRC floods conversations to drown out messages it perceives as unfavorable to its interests on search engines and social media feeds, and to amplify Beijing’s preferred narratives on its treatment of Uyghurs. Pro-PRC stakeholders flood information ecosystems with counternarratives, conspiracy theories, and unrelated news items to suppress narratives detailing PRC authorities’ atrocities in Xinjiang. Government social media accounts, PRC-affiliated media, private accounts, and bot clusters, likely all directed by PRC authorities, assist in this effort.
Astroturfing To Create a False Appearance of Support
To manipulate narratives on Xinjiang, pro-PRC actors engage in “astroturfing ,” or coordinated campaigns of inauthentic posts to create the illusion of widespread grassroots support for a policy, individual, or viewpoint, when no such widespread support exists. Similar to flooding, the PRC uses astroturfing to inundate the information space with “positive stories ” about Xinjiang and the Uyghur population, including manufactured depictions of Uyghurs living “simple happy lives,” as well as posts emphasizing the purported economic gains that the PRC’s policies have brought to Xinjiang. In mid-2021, more than 300 pro-PRC inauthentic accounts posted thousands of videos of Uyghurs seeming to deny abuse in the region and claiming they were “very free.” These videos claimed to show widespread disagreement throughout Xinjiang with claims in international media that Uyghurs were oppressed. However, according to the New York Times and ProPublica , propaganda officials in Xinjiang created most of these videos, which first appeared on PRC-based platforms and then spread to YouTube and Twitter, in order to manipulate public opinion.
A.I. Generated Images Used To Create the Appearance of Authenticity
Since at least January 2021 , pro-PRC networks have used advanced artificial intelligence-generated content, such as ]StyleGAN machine-learning[/url] generated images, to fabricate realistic-looking profile pictures for their inauthentic accounts. Unlike stolen images of real people, these tools create composite images that cannot be traced using a reverse image search, making it harder to determine whether the account is inauthentic. Some of these accounts repeatedly denied the PRC’s atrocities in Xinjiang, falsely asserting that the body of overwhelming and objective independent evidence of the atrocities is simply a fabrication of the United States and its allies.
Transnational Repression, Trolling, and Cyberbullying To Silence Dissent
PRC-sponsored transnational repression targets those who speak out against the PRC, particularly in Chinese diaspora communities , with on- and offline harassment to prevent them from sharing their stories or to intimidate them into self-censorship. Trolling campaigns are designed to silence those who speak out against the PRC, to poison the information environment with bad-faith arguments, and to silence opposing viewpoints. Trolling campaigns frequently evolve into threats of death, rape, or assault; malicious cyber-attacks; and cyberbullying or harassment through doxxing – publishing an individual’s personal information online without their permission, including their full name, home address, or job. In March 2021, the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) publicly questioned several individuals’ claims of maltreatment.
Narrative Focus
PRC Xinjiang narratives focus on denying criticism and amplifying “positive stories” in an attempt to counter accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity. The most aggressive PRC messengers often go on the offensive, creating false equivalencies with the actions of other countries to distract from international criticism of PRC behavior.
Rebutting/Denying Criticism from Independent Media Sources
PRC messengers both post and amplify content that denies claims made by independent media outlets and internationally renowned think tanks. In response to third-party accusations that the PRC subjects Uyghurs to forced labor , a wave of PRC diplomatic accounts , PRC- and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated media organizations , and suspected bot networks posted stories about the mechanized cotton harvesting process in Xinjiang, suggesting that the Xinjiang cotton industry has no need for forced labor. This messaging avoided responding to reports regarding the PRC authorities’ transfer of an estimated 100,000 Uyghurs out of Xinjiang in “coercive labor placements ” to work in factories elsewhere in the PRC.
Amplifying “Positive Stories” To Counter/”Disprove” Accusations of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
PRC actors use hashtags such as #AmazingXinjiang and #Xinjiang to amplify positive stories about Xinjiang and counter independent reporting of allegations of crimes against humanity and genocide by PRC authorities. Stories of a multicultural society living in harmony stand in contrast to the reality of the PRC’s extensive surveillance of Uyghurs, including PRC officials living in Uyghur homes for at least six weeks a year. This messaging aims to divert attention from reports regarding the PRC’s “demographic engineering ” campaign to systematically increase the Han Chinese population in Xinjiang and to “dilute ” Uyghur population concentrations in the region.
“Whataboutism” and False Equivalencies Used To Distract/Deflect Criticism
PRC actors, including voluble diplomats in the MFA’s Information Department use “whataboutism” and false equivalencies to distract from the PRC’s policies in Xinjiang and to portray accusers as hypocritical . Their arguments do not advance the case that the PRC is innocent; rather, they make the point that other countries are equally guilty of abuses. Despite these efforts to distract from the situation in Xinjiang, independent media outlets, academics, and human rights activists have published multiple eyewitness accounts and verifiable data that the PRC has imprisoned an estimated one million people and that credible evidence exists of torture , forced sterilization , and other abuses.
PRC MESSENGERS
The PRC’s most aggressive messengers are a subset of PRC diplomatic officials known for their confrontational messaging. Additionally, PRC- and CCP-affiliated media spread Xinjiang-related disinformation on a global scale in at least a dozen languages. To reach and resonate with global audiences, the PRC turns to private media companies and multilingual social media influencers. Trolls take the lead on attacking, stirring controversies, insulting, and harassing netizens to poison the information environment and distract from narratives critical of the PRC.
Subset of PRC Diplomats Lead with Assertive Messaging
Most of the PRC’s diplomatic social media messaging is positive and tends to focus on highlighting good relations with other countries and seeks to burnish the PRC’s image. A minority of MFA officials – dubbed “wolf warriors ” by some commentators – use social media platforms to defend the PRC’s national interests, often in confrontational ways . These individuals are most likely to try to deny, “disprove,” and deflect narratives that run counter to PRC official messaging. For example, to distract from the atrocities in Xinjiang, PRC messengers spread a false narrative claiming that the CIA was trying to foment unrest in Xinjiang in order to bring down the PRC. This aggressive style allows the PRC to experiment with different types of messaging to see what plays well at home and abroad. For example, some MFA officials’ accounts repeatedly spread disinformation and conspiracy theories regarding the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19 and about Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine.
PRC- and CCP-Affiliated Media Spread Xinjiang-Related Disinformation Globally
PRC- and CCP-affiliated media outlets like China Global Television Network, China Daily, China Radio International, and Xinhua produce content in at least 12 languages and devote significant resources to advertising on social media. In February 2021, facing growing international scrutiny over the PRC’s genocide in Xinjiang, Xinhua released a “fact sheet ” containing numerous false claims, such as stating that the internment camps holding Uyghurs in Xinjiang are “vocational education and training centers”’ that have “fully guaranteed the trainees’ personal freedom and dignity.” However, detainees’ testimonies published by Amnesty International allege that the PRC subjected them to regular interrogation, torture, and other mistreatment. The PRC partners with foreign media to republish both PRC-produced and PRC-backed content to local audiences, giving Beijing’s chosen narratives a level of authority and credibility they would not be able to achieve on their own. For example, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation ran a story by an anonymous author in November 2019 on the PRC’s “poverty alleviation ” policy in Xinjiang, causing observers to question its validity and whether it was PRC propaganda.
PRC Increasingly Turns to Private Media Companies To Craft Foreign-Facing Information Manipulation Campaigns
The PRC outsources and privatizes some of its foreign language information operations to take advantage of private sector innovation. The PRC government engages with at least 90 PRC-based firms to design foreign-facing information manipulation campaigns to portray the PRC positively. For example, a publishing organization operated by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Bureau of Radio, Film and Television and affiliated with the CCP’s United Front Work Department paid a marketing company to create videos depicting Uyghurs supporting the PRC government, which a network of inauthentic accounts then amplified on Twitter and YouTube.
Inauthentic Networks Used To Amplify PRC Narratives
Inauthentic networks of bots as well as real accounts that tweet and retweet PRC-approved narratives flood the information space and support astroturfing campaigns. One network of accounts posts information denying atrocities in Xinjiang or accusing “the West” of hypocrisy and another, larger network of accounts amplifies it through retweets and reposting. Stanford University’s Internet Observatory Cyber Policy Center assesses that the PRC’s English-language inauthentic networks have not been successful at gaining traction among foreign audiences.
Influencers Used To Better Reach Young International Audiences
PRC authorities believe social media influencers can help to push PRC messaging to shape local information environments due to their relatability and authenticity. CCP planners seek to adapt how they reach younger media consumers globally and are designing foreign propaganda to be more “youthful” and viral while strictly adhering to political “red lines .” In June 2021, Shen Haixiong, the head of state-run China Media Group – which falls under the direction of the CCP’s Propaganda Department – promoted the use of “multilingual internet celebrity studios ” to enhance the PRC’s image in key regions. Analytics firm Miburo Solutions identified more than 200 third-country influencers affiliated with PRC state media creating social media content in at least 38 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian with an average reach of 309,000 followers. Miburo found that the PRC uses influencers to advance its narratives regarding Xinjiang by obscuring state media employees’ affiliations and by orchestrating pro-PRC Western influencers’ tours of Xinjiang.
Trolls Used To Defend PRC Positions and Attack, Insult, and Harass Critics
Internet trolls mainly working under the auspices of the People’s Liberation Army, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, or the Communist Youth League directly attack critics online. According to the French Military School Strategic Research Institute , PRC trolls’ tactics include defending the PRC, attacking and trying to discredit critics, feeding controversies, insulting, and harassing. The PRC’s Cyberspace Affairs Commission and Central Propaganda Department directly employ an estimated two million people nationwide in this capacity and another 20 million working as part-time “network civilization volunteers .” These forces target the PRC’s domestic audience and Chinese-speaking diaspora communities. In response to the Hong Kong protests in 2019, the PRC started to invest more in influencing users of U.S.-based platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as international platforms, such as VKontakte and Telegram. In 2021, cybersecurity firm FireEye’s Mandiant Threat Intelligence arm and Google’s Threat Analysis Group identified elements of an ongoing PRC-backed information operation that targeted a range of issues, including Xinjiang, in various languages across 30 social media platforms and 40 websites.
The key points in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
News • kidia posted the article • 0 comments • 773 views • 2022-08-05 05:22
In today's #FeaturedPodcast, Virginia Newman, a trade and white-collar compliance attorney and counsel in the international department at Miller & Chevalier, joins host Gwen Hassan to explore key points in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. https://bit.ly/3vGvscd.
What is human trafficking? What is modern slavery? Where does it show up in the daily life of an organization? Human trafficking doesn't always take the form we first imagine - it can be found at almost any level of an organization's supply chain. What can compliance professionals do to assess human trafficking risk, and how can they leverage the resources of the organizations they work for to help root out this tragic problem? Gwen Hassan is here to help - this is Hidden Traffic.
There has been a debate around which comes first: mapping your supply chain or doing a risk assessment. Rather than making it a chicken or the egg scenario, Virginia believes mapping your supply chain is a part of a risk assessment and due diligence. The first step in performing a risk assessment is discussing your products with your product team; she shares: figuring out which products have high-risk inputs and which ones you should focus on mapping first.
This is especially important for large companies that import and distribute countless products. There may be too many products for everyone to have a fully mapped and detailed supply chain. Taking it one input at a time breaks down the line item list to a more manageable level. view all
What is human trafficking? What is modern slavery? Where does it show up in the daily life of an organization? Human trafficking doesn't always take the form we first imagine - it can be found at almost any level of an organization's supply chain. What can compliance professionals do to assess human trafficking risk, and how can they leverage the resources of the organizations they work for to help root out this tragic problem? Gwen Hassan is here to help - this is Hidden Traffic.
There has been a debate around which comes first: mapping your supply chain or doing a risk assessment. Rather than making it a chicken or the egg scenario, Virginia believes mapping your supply chain is a part of a risk assessment and due diligence. The first step in performing a risk assessment is discussing your products with your product team; she shares: figuring out which products have high-risk inputs and which ones you should focus on mapping first.
This is especially important for large companies that import and distribute countless products. There may be too many products for everyone to have a fully mapped and detailed supply chain. Taking it one input at a time breaks down the line item list to a more manageable level. view all
In today's #FeaturedPodcast, Virginia Newman, a trade and white-collar compliance attorney and counsel in the international department at Miller & Chevalier, joins host Gwen Hassan to explore key points in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. https://bit.ly/3vGvscd.
What is human trafficking? What is modern slavery? Where does it show up in the daily life of an organization? Human trafficking doesn't always take the form we first imagine - it can be found at almost any level of an organization's supply chain. What can compliance professionals do to assess human trafficking risk, and how can they leverage the resources of the organizations they work for to help root out this tragic problem? Gwen Hassan is here to help - this is Hidden Traffic.
There has been a debate around which comes first: mapping your supply chain or doing a risk assessment. Rather than making it a chicken or the egg scenario, Virginia believes mapping your supply chain is a part of a risk assessment and due diligence. The first step in performing a risk assessment is discussing your products with your product team; she shares: figuring out which products have high-risk inputs and which ones you should focus on mapping first.
This is especially important for large companies that import and distribute countless products. There may be too many products for everyone to have a fully mapped and detailed supply chain. Taking it one input at a time breaks down the line item list to a more manageable level.
What is human trafficking? What is modern slavery? Where does it show up in the daily life of an organization? Human trafficking doesn't always take the form we first imagine - it can be found at almost any level of an organization's supply chain. What can compliance professionals do to assess human trafficking risk, and how can they leverage the resources of the organizations they work for to help root out this tragic problem? Gwen Hassan is here to help - this is Hidden Traffic.
There has been a debate around which comes first: mapping your supply chain or doing a risk assessment. Rather than making it a chicken or the egg scenario, Virginia believes mapping your supply chain is a part of a risk assessment and due diligence. The first step in performing a risk assessment is discussing your products with your product team; she shares: figuring out which products have high-risk inputs and which ones you should focus on mapping first.
This is especially important for large companies that import and distribute countless products. There may be too many products for everyone to have a fully mapped and detailed supply chain. Taking it one input at a time breaks down the line item list to a more manageable level.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Database
Articles • kidia posted the article • 0 comments • 734 views • 2022-08-05 05:08
The Uyghur Forced Labor Database brings to light more than 800 companies tied to tainted products from China. Based on this evidence, these companies would not be in compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). Explore the Database: http://jww.org/database
view all
view all
The Uyghur Forced Labor Database brings to light more than 800 companies tied to tainted products from China. Based on this evidence, these companies would not be in compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). Explore the Database: http://jww.org/database