New York Times Investigation: China Exiling Millions of Uyghurs to Erase Their Identity

The New York Times published a new article today confirming that the Chinese regime is deliberately sending Uyghurs to work in Chinese provinces under the pretext of "saving them from poverty." However, this measure aims to change the identity of the Uyghurs, assimilate them, and more effectively control East Turkistan.

According to the article, a recent joint investigation by The New York Times, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and the German media outlet Der Spiegel revealed that the Chinese regime is sending Uyghurs from their homelands to work in Chinese provinces under so-called "service programs," and that this situation has worsened.

In this investigation, Uyghur workers employed in approximately 70 factories in five occupations across Chinese provinces were tracked and examined. They are forced to work in Chinese factories for several well-known brands. Experts estimate that millions of Uyghurs have been transported to Chinese provinces under these programs. Due to China's strict control over the internet and media, while the current situation of Uyghurs forced into labour remains unclear, UN labour experts, academics, and human rights activists have asserted that these programs are coercive.

The article noted that deporting Uyghurs to Chinese provinces has effectively become an important tool in the Chinese regime's reconstruction of Uyghur identity. Furthermore, it serves the purpose of controlling Uyghurs who are not imprisoned in internment camps and prisons.

The article also cited, as an example, a 2018 report written by Chinese researchers at Nankai University and presented to Chinese officials, which outlined a plan to expand the Uyghur deportation plan to Chinese provinces to reduce the Uyghur population in East Turkistan and fully assimilate the Uyghur population.

The crime of deporting Uyghurs to Chinese provinces is also evidenced by a few videos circulating on social media, and China disguises this crime under the guise of "employing the poor labour force." On the contrary, Han Chinese are being settled in East Turkestan in groups, with promotions offering free houses, free land, and high salaries.