1984 In China

[Revoltingest]

In the news....
Woman describes torture, beatings in Chinese detention camp

ASHINGTON (AP) — A member of the Uighur minority on Monday detailed torture and abuse she says she experienced in one of the internment camps where the Chinese government has detained hundreds of thousands of religious minorities.

Mihrigul Tursun, speaking to reporters in Washington, said she was interrogated for four days in a row without sleep, had her hair shaved and was subjected to an intrusive medical examination following her second arrest in China in 2017. After she was arrested a third time, the treatment grew worse.

“I thought that I would rather die than go through this torture and begged them to kill me,” Tursun, 29, told reporters at a meeting at the National Press Club.

Human rights groups say China has detained up to 2 million Uighurs to promote what the government calls “ethnic unity” in the country’s far west. On Monday, over 270 scholars from 26 countries released a statement drawing attention to “mass human rights abuses and deliberate attacks on indigenous cultures” taking place in China.

“In the camps, these detainees, most of whom are Uighur, are subjected to deeply invasive forms of surveillance and psychological stress as they are forced to abandon their native language, religious beliefs and cultural practices,” the statement said. “Outside of the camps, more than 10 million Turkic Muslim minorities in the region are subjected to a dense network of surveillance systems, checkpoints, and interpersonal monitoring which severely limit all forms of personal freedom.”

Raised in China, Tursun moved to Egypt to study English at a university and soon met her husband and had triplets with him. In 2015, Tursun traveled to China to spend time with her family and was immediately detained and separated from her infant children. When Tursun was released three months later, one of the triplets died and the other two developed health problems. Tursun said the children had been operated on. She was arrested for a second time about two years later.

Several months later, she was detained a third time and spent three months in a cramped, suffocating prison cell with 60 other women, having to sleep in turns, use the toilet in front of security cameras and sing songs praising China’s Communist Party. Tursun said she and other inmates were forced to take unknown medication, including pills that made them faint and a white liquid that caused bleeding in some women and loss of menstruation in others. Tursun said nine women from her cell died during her three months there.

 

[Stevicus]

A truly ghastly situation, clearly atrocities and crimes against humanity which should be prosecuted. I note that the final paragraph in the article you linked contained a rather measured softball statement from the State Department:

“The United States will continue to call on China to end these counterproductive policies and free all those arbitrarily detained,” the State Department said. “We are committed to promoting accountability for those who commit human rights violations and abuses, including by considering targeted measures against Xinjiang officials.”

"Counterproductive policies"? And they're only considering targeted measures against Xinjiang officials and not the Beijing regime itself? What kind of mealy-mouthed double talk is that?

 

[sun rise]

Add to that the big brother social monitoring and scoring that is spreading. Sooner or later the current regime in power there will lose the "mandate of heaven"

 

[Brickjectivity]

"Counterproductive policies"? And they're only considering targeted measures against Xinjiang officials and not the Beijing regime itself? What kind of mealy-mouthed double talk is that?

Selling U.S. China Policy
abstract --> "...Perhaps most surprisingly, the United States has not abandoned its commitment to human rights. While President Trump has not demonstrated real interest in the issue, Congress is focusing significant attention on Chinese government repression of Uighur Muslims in the far western autonomous region of Xinjiang with calls for sanctions against responsible Chinese officials, as well as consideration of sanctions against companies that contribute to China’s massive surveillance system...."

Hundreds of scholars condemn China for Xinjiang camps
abstract--> "Representatives from a group of 278 scholars in various disciplines from dozens of countries called on China at a news briefing in Washington to end its detention policies, and for sanctions directed at key Chinese leaders and security companies linked to the abuses...China rejects criticism of its actions in Xinjiang, saying that it protects the religion and culture of minorities, and that its security measures are needed"

So we have a kind of situation in which the USA is not being mealy mouthed but is unable to change anything.

 

[Jumi]

This sounds lot worse than what I've heard about it so far.

 

[Woberts]

Eh, I'm a wee bit skeptical.
Who did she originally reveal this to?
Is that organization opposed to China?
For example, South Korea has paid "survivors" to speak ill of the DPRK many times.
I'm wondering if this is a similar situation.

 

[Stevicus]

So we have a kind of situation in which the USA is not being mealy mouthed but is unable to change anything.

Well, if these allegations are true, then it's probably more about the money than anything else. Regimes which the US business community sees as profitable tend to get a pass no matter what they do.

 

[BSM1]

Well, if these allegations are true, then it's probably more about the money than anything else. Regimes which the US business community sees as profitable tend to get a pass no matter what they do.

What would you have our government do?

 

[Revoltingest]

This sounds lot worse than what I've heard about it so far.

Aye, that was my reaction.
It reminds me of what happened to family & friends back there during Mao's reign.
But this is scarier because it's more systematic & enduring.

 

[Stevicus]

What would you have our government do?

Well, for one thing, they could apply foreign policy consistently across all nations. If we oppose some nations for violating human rights, then we should oppose all of them on the same basis - or none at all.

 

[BSM1]

Well, for one thing, they could apply foreign policy consistently across all nations. If we oppose some nations for violating human rights, then we should oppose all of them on the same basis - or none at all.

Could you give us an example of a country we treat differently than China due to human rights issues?

 

[Stevicus]

Could you give us an example of a country we treat differently than China due to human rights issues?

Well, there's Cuba, Grenada, Nicaragua, Iraq, Syria, Iran - just to name a few. There's also North Vietnam, North Korea. I really shouldn't have to come up with examples like this, since these are things which every informed citizen should be aware of.

 

[BSM1]

Well, there's Cuba, Grenada, Nicaragua, Iraq, Syria, Iran - just to name a few. There's also North Vietnam, North Korea. I really shouldn't have to come up with examples like this, since these are things which every informed citizen should be aware of.

And you think we are opposing (for lack of a better word) these countries because of human rights issues?

 

[Stevicus]

And you think we are opposing (for lack of a better word) these countries because of human rights issues?

You think not?

 

[Valjean]

What would you have our government do?

Walk the talk. Prioritize "American values" like freedom and human rights over profit.

 

[Shad]

"Counterproductive policies"? And they're only considering targeted measures against Xinjiang officials and not the Beijing regime itself? What kind of mealy-mouthed double talk is that?

The US population has shown a willingness to ignore anything China does short of a war to get cheap goods. So why bother when the voters themselves could care less.

 

[Curious George]

 

[Stevicus]

The US population has shown a willingness to ignore anything China does short of a war to get cheap goods. So why bother when the voters themselves could care less.

The voters are easily manipulated by monied interests who control the media. There was a time when those same interests saw China as an enemy, even to the point where we recognized Taiwan as the true government of China. The reason we switched was because we felt that China could be used against the Soviet Union. So, China got a pass while the Russia got the shaft.

But if Russia and China ever join up against the US, then all those voters (along with the wealthy classes who control the media) will be sorry. And they'll get what they deserve, too, for their own myopia and greedy foolishness.

 

[Brickjectivity]

The voters are easily manipulated by monied interests who control the media. There was a time when those same interests saw China as an enemy, even to the point where we recognized Taiwan as the true government of China. The reason we switched was because we felt that China could be used against the Soviet Union. So, China got a pass while the Russia got the shaft.

But if Russia and China ever join up against the US, then all those voters (along with the wealthy classes who control the media) will be sorry. And they'll get what they deserve, too, for their own myopia and greedy foolishness.

In reality I do not personally care that much about people so very far away, and I feel that it would be dishonest to pretend to feel more. We have problems right here where we are that people do nothing about. This is why people need to have our own countries. We just have trouble caring about people that live far away. I care a little. I care about our foreign policy, but I'm not taking a smack in the face just because I'm not desiring to go to war against a foreign government. Be real! Its their country, and unfortunately its their problem. We can make trade deals and exchange ideas. That's what we can do.

 

[Shad]

The voters are easily manipulated by monied interests who control the media. There was a time when those same interests saw China as an enemy, even to the point where we recognized Taiwan as the true government of China. The reason we switched was because we felt that China could be used against the Soviet Union. So, China got a pass while the Russia got the shaft.

It was not a feeling. China and USSR had diverged in ideology prior to Nixon almost leading to WW3. See the 69 border conflict. Both Chinese and American governments used the general divergence to open up diplomacy. China wants to be free of the USSR as much as the USA wanted that separation. There are whole declassified briefings dating back to Johnson covering this. China got a pass as it was not a major threat in comparison.

But if Russia and China ever join up against the US, then all those voters (along with the wealthy classes who control the media) will be sorry. And they'll get what they deserve, too, for their own myopia and greedy foolishness.

China needs the US economy.