Uyghur activists’ success in shining a spotlight on the plight of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang by gaining the attention of western media and leaders veils their failure in achieving any progress when it comes to their central objective: halting Beijing’s ongoing ruthless assimilation program in China’s Xinjiang to prevent the Uyghur ethnic identity from being wiped out.
Evidence of this failure is implicitly exposed by how Uyghur activists describe the current situation of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, description that has been adopted by the USA’s State Department too: “The Chinese government is committing genocide and crimes against humanity through its wide-scale repression of Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in its northwestern region of Xinjiang, including in its use of internment camps and forced sterilization.” Given the extremely dire conditions situation, every Uyghur and non-Uyghur activist involved in investigating and exposing how the Uyghur identity is being aggressively erased in China acknowledges that the situation of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang could not be worse.
Given that the situation in Xinjiang could not be worse, it can be concluded that the efforts made in the last twenty years by the countless activists, researchers, governments, and NGOs to prevent the Uyghur identity from being erased in Xinjiang have failed to achieve any tangible progress.
Yes, Uyghur activists and their supporters have been successful in proving beyond any reasonable doubt that the brutal assimilation policies in Xinjiang could amount to cultural genocide. Extensive data collection and analysis by reputed academicians show that numerous fundamental human rights are being systematically abused by Beijing’s program to achieve the full assimilation into the Chinese nation of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Yes, Uyghur activist and their supporters have been successful in getting western mass media to expose the plight of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang and raise the awareness of western audiences about it. Uyghur activist have also been effective in obtaining support from numerous political figures in the West and getting western governments to implement some political and economic measures to pressure Beijing to halt their assimilation policies in Xinjiang.
A tangible example of this success is the fact that numerous western governments and politicians have labeled Beijing’s policies in Xinjiang as genocidal and diplomatically boycotted the Beijing 2022 Olympics. Another tangible example of this success is the passing by the American government of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which is aimed at punishing China economically and diplomatically for their human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Despite this success in the West, what the Uyghur activists and their supporters have failed to make any kind of progress in their central objective in the East: halting Beijing’s brutal Uyghur assimilation program in Xinjiang. Despite the extensive evidence exposing what seems to be a clear case of crimes against humanity, the abundant media coverage, and the economic sanctions imposed, China has continued to systematically deny basic human rights to its Uyghur population. Indeed, the situation of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang could not be worse.
What could Uyghur activists and their supporters do differently to improve their chances to have a positive, tangible impact on the lives of the Uyghurs living in Xinjiang?
First, they should abandon western-inspired idealistic objectives, such as demanding from Beijing not to assimilate the Uyghurs or to allow for an independent Uyghur state to be established. This type of unrealistic demands blocks any possibility to negotiate with the Chinese government an improvement of the living conditions of the Uyghurs. Instead, Uyghur activists should pursue objectives that are valuable to the Uyghurs in Xinjiang and acceptable to the Chinese government.
Second, Uyghur activists should open communication channels with the only counterpart that can make a difference in Xinjiang: The Chinese government. Uyghur activists’ success in the West has not been able to sway the Chinese government in their assimilationist policies in Xinjiang. Some might argue that western pressure on China might have resulted in increasing the perceived threat that the Uyghur identity represents for China’s integrity and resulted in harsher measures being implemented by Beijing to counter it.
Third, Uyghur activists should stop believing that a constant stream of events, news and meetings with prominent individuals indicates that they are being successful. These events and meetings have not and will not contribute to the alleviation of the suffering of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang. Uyghur activists must admit that the confrontational approach that they have been following against the Chinese government has failed to yield any tangible progress in Xinjiang and that it is high time to give a cooperative approach a chance.
Since 2010, I have been advising the Uyghur activists to adopt a cooperative approach and open communication channels with the Chinese government to explore mutually beneficial ways out of the conflict. My presentation at the conference “In defense of religious freedom: the Uyghur struggle for human rights” at the European Parliament in 2015 concluded that, one way or the other, the Uyghurs would be assimilated into the Chinese culture.
What remained to be decided was the intensity of the assimilation and the degree of Uyghur suffering during this unavoidable process. And that to minimize the intensity of the assimilation and the suffering of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, Uyghur activists should switch from hopelessly confronting the Chinese government to finding ways to communicating and cooperating with it. A lack of communication and cooperation would result in a painful, forceful, and complete assimilation of the Uyghurs. This is exactly what is happening today.
Obviously, my suggestions did fall on deaf ears and the Uyghur activists and their supporters persisted on their delusional confrontational path. Today, they continue to mask their failure in achieving any tangible improvements for Uyghurs in Xinjiang by pursuing high visibility in the media and organizing countless events and meetings in the West. Meanwhile, the Uyghur identity is being systematically wiped out in the East.