All Reading
This section contains a curated list of useful articles, investigations, books and other reading materials. The list is updated on a weekly basis and suggestions for additions are welcome.
Starting Points:
Why the Carrot isn’t Working, Either
The Chinese government thinks it can thwart unrest among ethnic minorities by raising their incomes. But prosperity doesn't buy loyalty.
Chinese Police Shoot Dead Seven Uyghurs in Kashgar
Seven ethnic minority Uyghurs have been shot dead by police in separate clashes in China's restive northwestern region of Xinjiang and nine others detained for protesting against some of the killings, an exile Uyghur group said on Monday. The shootings underscore a trend of increasing violence in Xinjiang, where the Muslim Uyghurs complain of discrimination and religious controls under Beijing’s rule.
Behind Cry for Help From China Labor Camp
The cry for help, a neatly folded letter stuffed inside a package of Halloween decorations sold at Kmart, traveled 5,000 miles from China into the hands of a mother of two in Oregon. Scrawling in wobbly English on a sheet of onionskin paper, the writer said he was imprisoned at a labor camp in this northeastern Chinese town, where he said inmates toiled seven days a week, their 15-hour days haunted by sadistic guards.
Present-Day Ethnic Problems in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region: Overview and Recommendations
Written by now-imprisoned Uyghur economist Ilham Tohti, this article analyzes the underlying causes of ethnic tensions in Xinjiang, and offers recommendations for protecting the basic rights of Xinjiang’s citizens.
Living Shrines of Uyghur China
Lisa Ross’s ethereal photographs of Islamic holy sites were created over the course of a decade on journeys to China’s Xinjiang region in Central Asia, historically a cultural crossroads but an area to which artists and researchers have generally been denied access since its annexation in 1949. These monumental images show shrines created during pilgrimages, many of which have been maintained continuously over several centuries; visitation to the tombs of saints is a central aspect of daily life in Uyghur Islam. Many of the sites in Ross’s work are threatened by political and economic pressures—her images are valuable, therefore, not only for their intrinsic beauty, but as an important record of a rich and vibrant culture.
China's 'Re-Education Through Labor' System: The View From Within
An inside look at the country's notorious prison camps.
China surveillance targets crime – and dissent
Video surveillance is a multibillion-dollar industry in China, bankrolled by an authoritarian Communist Party that has overseen more spending on domestic security in recent years than national defense.