Leaked China documents reveal Jinping's directives of 'No Mercy' on Uighur Muslims

The Chinese government’s leaked internal documents revealed the directives of President Xi Jinping to “show absolutely no mercy” on Uighur Muslims, a minority ethnic group, in the “struggle against terrorism, infiltration and separatism”. The 403-page long documents, leaked to an American daily, include internal speeches by Jinping and other officials, directives and reports on the surveillance and control of the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.

Coercive nature of the crackdown

There were directives for the local officials on how to handle returning students and asking about their family whereabouts. The officials were advised to tell that their families are in training school set up by the government. The coercive nature of the crackdown was clear from the document where the officials were directed to tell students that their behaviour could affect the detention period of their parents. After Uighur militants stabbed more than 150 people at a train station in 2014, Xi Jinping, in a series of speeches delivered to officials, urged the party to follow America’s policy of “war on terror”. 

Read: China Warns US: Criticism Over Uighur Not 'helpful' For Trade Talks

Drone video surfaced

Recently, a drone video of hundreds of blindfolded men being led from a train surfaced where they can be seen sitting in the courtyard outside a train station with their heads shaved and hands tied behind their back. They were then escorted by police officers in SWAT uniform to some other location which was captured in the video. The video was posted by an anonymous YouTube account named ‘War on Fear’ and claimed that the video was taken in China and blamed the Chinese government for long-term suppression of human rights and fundamental freedom in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Read: US Bars Chinese Officials For Crackdown On Uighur, Amid Pak's Silence

US criticised Pakistan

In September, the United States had criticised Pakistan at the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for not highlighting the "horrific conditions" of the Muslim community in China. China is accused of detaining around one million Uighurs and other Turkic-speaking Muslims in the Xinjiang province. The World Uyghur Congress had also blamed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for not acknowledging the plight of the minority community of China. 

Read: Uighur Researchers Say China Running More Camps Than Known

Read: Disturbing Video From Xinjiang Shows Hundreds Of Blindfolded Prisoners