Updated November 19, 2019
Uyghurs in China
Uyghurs (also spelled “Uighurs”) are an ethnic group living
intensive security measures aimed at combatting “terrorism,
primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
separatism and religious extremism.” PRC official data
(XUAR) in the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s)
indicates that criminal arrests in Xinjiang increased from
northwest. Uyghurs speak a Turkic language and practice a
approximately 14,000 in 2013 to 228,000 in 2017.
moderate form of Sunni Islam. The XUAR, often referred
to simply as Xinjiang (pronounced “SHIN-jyahng”), is a
Two prominent Uyghurs serving life sentences for state
provincial-level administrative region which comprises
security crimes are Ilham Tohti (convicted in 2014), a
about one-sixth of China’s total land area and borders eight
Uyghur economics professor who had maintained a website
countries. The region is rich in minerals, produces over
related to Uyghur issues, and Gulmira Imin (convicted in
80% of China’s cotton, and has China’s largest coal and
2010), who had managed a Uyghur language website and
natural gas reserves and a fifth of its oil reserves. Beijing
participated in the 2009 demonstrations. In September
hopes to promote Xinjiang as a key link in the PRC’s Belt
2017, former Xinjiang University President Tashpolat
and Road Initiative, which includes Chinese-backed
Tiyip, an ethnic Uyghur, was convicted of separatism in a
infrastructure projects and energy development in
secret trial and received a death sentence with a two year
neighboring Central and South Asia.
reprieve. His status is unknown.
In tandem with a new national religious policy referred to
as “Sinicization,” XUAR authorities have instituted
measures to assimilate Uyghurs into Han Chinese society
and reduce the influences of Uyghur, Islamic, and Arabic
cultures and languages. The XUAR government enacted a
law in 2017 that prohibits “expressions of extremification,”
and placed restrictions, often imposed arbitrarily, upon face
veils, beards and other grooming, the practice of some
traditional Uyghur customs, and adherence to Islamic
dietary laws (halal). Thousands of mosques in Xinjiang
reportedly have been demolished as part of what the
government calls a “mosque rectification” campaign; others
have been “Sinicized”—minarets have been taken down,
onion domes have been replaced by traditional Chinese
Source: CRS using U.S. Department of State Boundaries; Esri;
roofs, and Islamic motifs and Arabic writings have been
Global Administrative Areas; DeLorme; NGA.
removed.
All or parts of the area comprising Xinjiang have been
China’s new religious policies also have placed greater
under the political control or influence of Chinese,
restrictions on the Hui, another Muslim minority group in
Mongols, and Russians for long periods of the region’s
China who number around 11 million, although these have
documented history, along with periods of Turkic or
been less severe than those placed on the Uyghurs. The Hui
Uyghur rule. Uyghurs played a role in the establishment of
are more geographically dispersed and culturally
two short-lived East Turkestan Republics in the 1930s and
assimilated than the Uyghurs, are generally physically
1940s. The PRC asserted control over Xinjiang in 1949 and
indistinguishable from Hans, and do not speak a non-
established the XUAR in 1955.
Chinese language.
Uyghurs once were the predominant ethnic group in the
With the apparent strong backing of Communist Party
XUAR; they now constitute roughly 45% of the region’s
General Secretary Xi Jinping, beginning in 2016, the new
population of 24 million, or around 10.5 million, as many
Communist Party Secretary to the XUAR, former Tibet
Han Chinese, the majority ethnic group in China, have
Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, stepped up security
migrated there, particularly to the provincial capital,
measures aimed at the Uyghur population. Such actions
Urumqi. Many Uyghurs complain that Hans have benefitted
have included the installation of thousands of neighborhood
disproportionately from economic development in Xinjiang.
police kiosks, more intrustive monitoring of Internet use,
and the collection of biometric data for identification
Human Rights Issues
purposes. In addition, the central government has sent an
Since an outbreak of demonstrations and ethnic unrest in
estimated one million officials and state workers from
2009 and clashes involving Uyghurs and Xinjiang security
outside Xinjiang, mostly ethnic Han, to live temporarily in
personnel that spiked between 2013 and 2015, PRC leaders
the homes of Uyghurs to assess their loyalty to the
have sought to “stabilize” the XUAR through more
Communist Party.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Uyghurs in China
Mass Internment
economic sanctions pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Act
According to some estimates, since 2017, Xinjiang
(subtitle F of P.L. 114-328) upon PRC officials responsible
authorities have arbitrarily detained approximately 1.5
for human rights abuses in Xinjiang. The UIGHUR Act of
million Turkic Muslims, mostly ethnic Uyghurs and a
2019 (H.R. 1025), introduced in February 2019, would in
smaller number of Kazakhs, in “reeducation camps.” PRC
part call upon the Administration to engage in international
officials describe the Xinjiang facilities as “vocational
advocacy in support of Turkic Muslims in China, promote
education and training centers” where “trainees” study
Radio Free Asia’s Uyghur language programming, and
Chinese, take courses on PRC law, learn job skills, and
restrict the export of U.S. technologies that facilitate the
undergo “de-extremization” or are “cured of ideological
mass detention of Turkic Muslims in China.
infection.” Some may have engaged in religious and ethnic
cultural practices that the government now perceives as
On October 1, 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
extremist, or as manifesting “strongly religious” views or
announced that it had blocked certain shipments of goods
thoughts that could lead to the spread of religious
suspected of having been made with forced labor from five
extremism or terrorism. Detainees reportedly are compelled
countries, including China, pursuant to Section 307 of the
to renounce many of their Islamic beliefs and customs and
Tariff Act of 1930. The Chinese goods, sportswear made
to undergo self-criticisms. According to some former
for a U.S. company, were suspected of using forced labor
detainees, treatment and conditions in the camps include
from a Xinjiang reeducation camp.
crowded and unsanitary conditions, food deprivation,
beatings, and sexual abuse. Some reeducation centers
On October 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce
reportedly contain factories producing goods for export.
announced that it would add 28 PRC entities to the Bureau
of Industry and Security (BIS) “entity list” under the Export
In July 2019, Xinjiang officials claimed that most detainees
Administration Regulations (EAR), for their connections to
had “returned to society.” Some Uyghurs living abroad,
PRC human rights abuses against Uyghur and other Turkic
however, state that they still have not heard from missing
Muslims in Xinjiang. The action imposes licensing
relatives in Xinjiang. Some reports indicate that many of
requirements prior to the sale or transfer of U.S. items to
those released from re-education centers are still heavily
these entities. On October 9, 2019, the State Department
monitored and their movements are restricted; many are
announced visa restrictions against an unspecified number
required to attend political study classes or have been
of Chinese government and Communist Party officials who
assigned to jobs in factories where they are strictly
are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the
supervised. Some detainees have received prison sentences.
detention or abuse of Uighurs or other members of Muslim
minority groups in Xinjiang.
Forced and Involuntary Labor
The PRC government, as part of its national “poverty
Alleged Terrorism
alleviation” policy, has provided financial incentives for
The PRC government has attributed numerous deadly
companies from wealthier provinces to relocate or invest in
incidents in the XUAR to the East Turkestan Islamic
manufacturing facilities in poorer, western areas of China,
Movement (ETIM), which it portrays as a Uyghur separatist
including the XUAR. According to some reports, this
and terrorist group with ties to global terrorist
economic policy has been combined with “stability
organizations. The U.S. government designated ETIM as a
maintenance” efforts in Xinjiang, where the government
terrorist organization under Executive Order 13224 in 2002
has begun to move large numbers of Uyghurs into the
(to block terrorist financing) and placed ETIM on the
formal workforce, particularly into labor intensive textile
Terrorist Exclusion List in 2004 (to prevent the entry of
and apparel factories. Uyghurs who refuse to accept such
terrorists into the United States). ETIM is not on the
employment may be threatened with detention.
Department of State’s narrower “Foreign Terrorist
Organization” (FTO) list. Roughly 100 Uyghurs from
U.S. Responses
China entered Islamic State territory during 2013-2014,
Trump Administration officials have openly condemned
according to the New America Foundation.
PRC forced-assimilation policies and the mass, arbitrary
detention of Uyghurs. The Senate Foreign Relations
At its height, ETIM, whose members reportedly spent time
Committee has held two hearings on human rights issues in
in Afghanistan and Pakistan from the late-1990s to the mid-
China during the 116th Congress, in which witnesses
2000s, was a small, loosely organized and poorly financed
provided accounts of the mass internment of Uyghurs. In
group that lacked weapons and had little if any contact with
October 2019, the Congressional-Executive Commission on
global jihadist groups, according to some experts. The U.S.
China held a hearing entitled “Forced Labor, Mass
government “identified sufficient evidence” to consider
Internment, and Social Control in Xinjiang.”
three violent incidents in China purportedly involving
Uyghurs as terrorist attacks in 2014. The lack of available
In January 2019, the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act was
information in most other cases has made it difficult to
introduced in the Senate and House (S. 178 and H.R. 649).
verify PRC accounts of alleged terrorist activity. The
S. 178 was passed by the Senate on September 11, 2019.
Department of State reported that in 2018, there was a lack
The act would mandate four U.S. agency reports on the
of independent evidence that ETIM is still active.
Uyghur human rights situation and urge the Administration
to establish a U.S. Special Coordinator for Xinjiang in the
Thomas Lum, Specialist in Asian Affairs
Department of State, among other provisions. It would urge
the Secretary of State to consider imposing visa and
IF10281
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Uyghurs in China
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF10281 · VERSION 17 · UPDATED