China Primer: Uyghurs

China Primer: Uyghurs

Updated September 22, 2023
China Primer: Uyghurs
Uyghurs (also spelled “Uighurs”) are a Muslim ethnic
the region; Hans now constitute 42% of the XUAR
minority group living primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur
population and the majority in Urumqi, the regional capital.
Autonomous Region (XUAR) in the far northwest of the
Since 2017, the Xinjiang government has carried out a
People’s Republic of China (PRC or China). They have
campaign to forcefully reduce birth rates or “illegal births”
garnered the attention of U.S. policymakers, particularly
among Uyghurs and other minority groups.
since 2018 following reports of the mass internment of
Uyghurs in “reeducation” centers. The facilities were part
Since an outbreak of Uyghur demonstrations and
of an ongoing government effort to systematically
interethnic unrest in 2009, and sporadic clashes involving
transform the thought and behavior of Uyghurs and
Uyghurs and Xinjiang security personnel that spiked
forcefully assimilate them into PRC society, which some
between 2013 and 2015, PRC leaders have carried out large
observers say is destroying Uyghur culture and identity.
scale criminal arrests and intensive security measures in the
The U.S. government has responded by implementing
XUAR, aimed at combatting “terrorism, separatism, and
targeted restrictions on trade with Xinjiang and imposing
religious extremism.” Three violent incidents in China in
visa and economic sanctions on some PRC officials.
2014 purportedly carried out by Uyghurs against Han
civilians were described by some outside observers as acts
Uyghurs speak a Turkic language and practice a moderate
of terrorism.
form of Sunni Islam. The XUAR, often referred to simply
as Xinjiang (pronounced “SHIN-jyahng”), is a provincial-
Forced Assimilation
level administrative region that comprises about one-sixth
Since 2017, in tandem with a national policy referred to as
of China’s total land area and borders eight countries. The
“Sinicization,” XUAR authorities have instituted measures
region is rich in minerals, produces over 80% of China’s
to assimilate Uyghurs into Han Chinese society and reduce
cotton, and has China’s largest coal and natural gas reserves
the influences of Uyghur, Islamic, and Arabic cultures and
and a fifth of its oil reserves. PRC officials refer to Xinjiang
languages. Some experts contend the PRC government has
as a “core hub” for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which
used counterterrorism as a pretext for carrying out
involves Chinese-backed infrastructure projects and energy
assimilation policies and mass detentions in Xinjiang. The
development in neighboring Central and South Asia.
XUAR government enacted a law in 2017 that prohibits
“expressions of extremification,” and placed restrictions
upon dress and grooming, traditional Uyghur customs, and
adherence to Islamic dietary laws (halal). Thousands of
mosques in Xinjiang have been closed, demolished, or
“Sinicized,” whereby Islamic motifs and Arabic writings
have been removed. The Xinjiang government has placed
nearly half a million Uyghur and other minority children in
state-run boarding schools, and has banned the use of
Uyghur language in instruction in all schools in the XUAR.
Mass Internment
Between 2017 and 2019, XUAR authorities, at the behest of
Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping,

arbitrarily detained over 1 million ethnic Uyghur and other
Sources: CRS, using U.S. Department of State Boundaries; Esri;
Muslims in reeducation centers. Detainees generally were
Global Administrative Areas; DeLorme; NGA.
not accused of crimes, but rather were held on the basis of
past religious, cultural, scholarly, social, and online
All or parts of the area comprising Xinjiang have been
activities, as well as foreign travel, that the government
under the political control or influence of Chinese,
later deemed “extremist,” “pre-criminal,” or potentially
Mongols, and Russians for long spans of the region’s
terrorist. Detainees were compelled to renounce many of
documented history, along with periods of Turkic or
their Islamic beliefs and customs as a condition for their
Uyghur rule. Uyghurs played a role in the establishment of
release. Treatment in the centers reportedly included food
two short-lived, semi-autonomous East Turkestan
deprivation, psychological pressure, sexual abuse, medical
Republics in the 1930s and 1940s. The PRC asserted
neglect, torture, and forced labor. Leaked Xinjiang police
control over Xinjiang in 1949 and established the XUAR in
files, which included thousands of detainee records and
1955. Uyghurs once were the predominant ethnic group in
images, important party directives, and police protocols,
Xinjiang; they now make up less than half of the region’s
revealed the prison-like nature of the reeducation centers.
population of 26 million, according to official sources. The
government long has provided economic incentives for Han
Chinese, the majority ethnic group in China, to migrate to
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China Primer: Uyghurs
Since 2019, the XUAR government appears to have
former PRC officials for sanctions in relation to human
released some detainees, prosecuted many as criminals, and
rights abuses in Xinjiang pursuant to Executive Order
sent others to work as factory labor. Many forms of
13818, which implements the Global Magnitsky Human
political indoctrination continue in homes and factories.
Rights Accountability Act (Title XII, Subtitle F of P.L. 114-
Some reeducation centers appear to have been converted to
328). Among those designated is former XUAR Party
high-security prisons and new prisons have been built. In
Secretary Chen Quanguo. Also designated are two entities,
2022, the XUAR government reported it had prosecuted
the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau and the Xinjiang
540,826 people since 2017; human rights groups presume
Production and Construction Corps, a state-run paramilitary
many were Uyghurs charged with political crimes. More
organization with major economic interests in the XUAR.
than 300 Uyghur intellectuals and cultural figures are
The State Department also has announced visa restrictions
believed to be detained or serving prison sentences. Among
against Xinjiang officials and their immediate family
Uyghur intellectuals handed long sentences for state
members pursuant to other authorities. Separately, the
security crimes are Ilham Tohti (convicted in 2014), an
Treasury Department has imposed restrictions on U.S.
economics professor who had maintained a website related
investments in certain PRC companies involved in the
to Uyghur issues, and Rahile Dawut, a scholar of Uyghur
surveillance and tracking of religious and ethnic minorities
folklore who was convicted in September 2023. Both were
in China.
found guilty of “separatism” and sentenced to life in prison.
Export Controls. Since October 2019, the Commerce
In August 2022, the United Nations Office of the High
Department has added approximately 70 companies and
Commissioner for Human Rights determined that China’s
public security entities to the Bureau of Industry and
counterterrorism and counter-“extremism” strategies have
Security (BIS) “entity list” under the Export Administration
led to “interlocking patterns of severe and undue
Regulations (EAR) due to their connection to human rights
restrictions on a wide range of human rights” and may
abuses or repression in Xinjiang. A number of other PRC
constitute crimes against humanity. It called on China to
entities have also been added, due in whole or in part, to
“release all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty”
their connection to human rights abuses in China. The
and “urgently repeal” all discriminatory laws and policies
actions impose licensing requirements prior to the sale or
against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the XUAR.
transfer of certain U.S. items to these entities, with a
presumption of license denial for most items.
Forced Labor
The PRC government has pressured many Uyghurs,
Forced Labor Import Restrictions. From 2019 to 2021,
including former detainees, into accepting employment in
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a series
textile, apparel, agricultural, consumer electronics, and
of announcements blocking the import of goods suspected
other labor-intensive industries, in Xinjiang and other
of involving Xinjiang-related forced labor pursuant to the
provinces. Some factories utilizing Uyghur labor are tied to
forced labor import ban under Section 307 of the Tariff Act
global supply chains. Uyghurs who refuse to accept such
of 1930. In December 2021, Congress passed and President
employment may face detention or other penalties.
Biden signed into law P.L. 117-78, popularly referred to as
the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). Among
Selected U.S. Responses
other provisions, the law creates a presumption that goods
Atrocities Determination. On January 19, 2021, the State
produced or manufactured in Xinjiang, or by entities with
Department announced that it had determined that the PRC
certain ties to Xinjiang, are made with forced labor, unless
had committed crimes against humanity and genocide in
CBP affirmatively determines otherwise. Pursuant to the
Xinjiang, and called on multilateral and juridical bodies to
UFLPA, this “rebuttable presumption” went into effect on
pursue accountability. The Biden Administration has
June 21, 2022.
concurred with this determination. The State Department’s
annual human rights report on China covering 2022
East Turkestan Islamic Movement
describes these crimes as “continuing.”
The PRC government has attributed some past deadly

incidents in the XUAR since the 1990s to the East
Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act. On June 17, 2020,
Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which it portrays as
then-President Trump signed the Uyghur Human Rights
a Uyghur separatist and terrorist group with ties to global
Policy Act of 2020 (P.L. 116-145) into law. The act aims to
terrorist organizations. The U.S. government designated
impose sanctions on PRC officials determined to be
ETIM as a terrorist organization under Executive Order
responsible for human rights abuses against Uyghurs and
13224 in 2002 (to block terrorist financing) and in 2004
other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang. The act also
placed ETIM on the Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL). Since
mandated a number of reports from the executive branch on
2017, the U.S government has noted a lack of credible
subjects including the extent of human rights violations and
evidence supporting ETIM’s continued presence, and stated
abuses in Xinjiang, the implications for U.S. security and
in 2022 that it “has not seen clear and convincing evidence
economic interests, and U.S. efforts to protect Uyghur-
of ETIM’s existence.” In 2020, the Trump Administration
Americans and ethnic Uyghurs from China residing in the
removed ETIM from the TEL. United Nations sanctions
United States from harassment or intimidation by officials
monitors differ in their assessment, reporting that in 2022,
or agents of the PRC government.
ETIM had a presence in Afghanistan and Syria.
Targeted Sanctions and Investment Restrictions. The
Thomas Lum, Specialist in Asian Affairs
United States has to date publicly designated 10 current or
Michael A. Weber, Analyst in Foreign Affairs
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China Primer: Uyghurs

IF10281

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