​Nestled beneath the breathtaking Tianshan Mountain range lays the bustling city of Urumqi, the capital of the Uighur Autonomous Region. A culturally distinct region among China’s territories, the Uighur Autonomous Region boasts of some of the most breathtaking and difficult to reach destinations. Not far from the capital lies Dabancheng, the city that is housing China’s latest and perhaps most egregious human rights offense to date: “re-education camps”.
 
These camps are the culmination of years of Big Brother-like surveillance and increasing militarization in the area. Under the guise of “vocational studies”, the Uighur locals (the Turkish ethnic minority) learn Chinese language, culture, and are paired with Han Chinese “counterparts”. They are expected to renounce Islam, eat pork, and the women are barred from wearing hijabs. They are forced to recite laws and sing the song: “Without the Communist Party There Can Be No New China”. In addition to their Han Chinese “friends”, who act as both Chinese culture teachers and spies, the facilities are equipped with cutting edge security and cameras. The living conditions are dismal and cramped; the treatment is worse.
 
Reports of torture, beating, and murder of the Uighur population have fallen on mostly deaf ears. It is only after Abdurehim Heyit’s (a renowned poet and musician) death in a re-education camp that the Turkish government has condemned China’s actions. Even amidst their recent $3.6 billion loan from China’s ICBC bank, Turkey has publicly denounced these camps – an act that many are too afraid or too preoccupied to do.
 
Today, the American administration only has room to think about the ongoing US-China trade war. This seems understandable, considering the President’s attitude towards Muslim minorities in our own country. For President Trump, “being Muslim” is an act that is only forgivable if one is also a profitable economic partner. Other European countries have been slow to comment, but of course these regions have their own issues with Muslim minorities.
 
This is the New China that residents of the “re-education camps” are forced to sing about: a China that is able to scrub ethnic minorities from the face of Earth with impunity. Xi’s new Communist China is a perfect China. Who would dare to correct the economic powerhouse that is China and even worse, who might follow next?