1949–1970: Beginning of Control

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, East Turkestan officially came
under Beijing’s administration. The region was designated as the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region, yet in practice, this autonomy remained largely symbolic.

Throughout the 1950s, the Chinese government initiated a large-scale Han migration policy,
aiming to change the demographic balance of the region. Religious schools were shut down,
and many mosques were placed under state control.

1980–2000: Policies of “Unity” and the Rise of Surveillance

In the 1980s, China launched its “Open Up the West” (Go West) Strategy, promoting economic
development in Xinjiang. However, for Uyghurs, it also brought deeper cultural restrictions.

After the Baren uprising (1990) and the Urumqi incidents (1997), the government began
labeling Uyghurs as “separatists.”

Mandarin Chinese became mandatory in schools, and Islamic symbols were removed from
public life.

2001–2010: The “War on Terror” and Intensified Control

Following the September 11 attacks, Beijing began framing Uyghur activism as terrorism,
using global anti-terror rhetoric to justify its crackdown.

Under the pretext of “counterterrorism,” restrictions on religious practice, movement, and
education were expanded.

Mosques and Quranic education came under stricter regulation, while thousands of Uyghurs
were detained for peaceful religious expression.

2014–2020: “Re-education Camps” and Digital Surveillance

Beginning in 2014, President Xi Jinping launched the “People’s War on Terror” in Xinjiang,
marking a new era of mass surveillance and arbitrary detention.

According to Human Rights Watch, hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other Turkic
Muslims were detained in “political education centers” where they were forced to denounce
Islam, memorize Communist Party slogans, and learn Mandarin.

Reports documented torture, psychological pressure, sexual violence, and forced labor inside
these facilities.

In 2017, satellite imagery and leaked Chinese government documents confirmed the
construction of a vast network of internment camps across Xinjiang.

BBC and Reuters investigations revealed that Uyghurs were monitored through facial-
recognition cameras, DNA collection, and digital tracking software known as the Integrated
Joint Operations Platform (IJOP), which flagged individuals for behavior such as praying too
often or owning religious books.

2020–2025: Global Reactions and China’s Denial

By 2020, growing international awareness of China’s actions in Xinjiang led to widespread
condemnation from governments and human rights organizations.

A United Nations report (2022) concluded that the arbitrary detention, torture, and forced labor
of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang “may constitute international crimes, in
particular crimes against humanity.”

China, however, dismissed these allegations as “fabricated lies,” maintaining that its
“vocational training centers” were designed to combat extremism and reduce poverty.

In response to these findings, several Western governments—including the United States,
Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union—imposed targeted sanctions on
Chinese officials and companies involved in human rights abuses.

The United States passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (2021), banning all imports
made with forced labor from Xinjiang.

The sanctions and trade restrictions marked one of the most coordinated international responses
to China’s policies in decades.

REFERENCES

1949–1970: Beginning of Control

BBC News – Xinjiang profile – Timeline (accessed 2024): https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-22278037

Human Rights Watch – China: Fifty Years of Repression in Xinjiang (1999-04-12): https://www.hrw.org/report/1999/04/12/fifty-years-repression-xinjiang

1980–2000: Policies of “Unity” and the Rise of Surveillance

The Guardian – China’s crackdown on Uighurs: timeline of repression (2020-07-24): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/24/chinas-crackdown-on-uighurs-a-timeline-of-repression

Reuters – Timeline: How Xinjiang has become a security state (2018-06-13): https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-xinjiang-timeline-idUSKBN1JG3N7

2001–2010: The “War on Terror” and Intensified Control

Council on Foreign Relations – China’s Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang (2023): https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-xinjiang-uyghurs-muslims-repression-genocide-human-rights

Amnesty International – Gross Human Rights Violations Under Counter-Terrorism Policy (2018-09): https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/09/china-mass-internment-of-uighurs/

2014–2020: “Re-education Camps” and Digital Surveillance

BBC News – China Uighurs: The people who disappeared (2018): https://www.bbc.com/news/resources/idt-sh/China_hidden_camps

Human Rights Watch – China’s Algorithms of Repression (2019-05-01): https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/05/01/chinas-algorithms-repression/reverse-engineering-xinjiangs-police-mass-surveillance

Amnesty International – China: Mass Internment of Uighurs (2018-09): https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/09/china-mass-internment-of-uighurs/

Reuters – Inside China’s mass detention camps in Xinjiang (2018): https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/muslims-camps-china/

2020–2025: Global Reactions and China’s Denial

United Nations – OHCHR Assessment… Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (2022-08): https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/08/ohchr-assessment-human-rights-concerns-xinjiang-uyghur-autonomous-region

Reuters – US bans imports from more Chinese firms over Uyghur forced labor (2025-01-14): https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-bans-imports-more-companies-over-uyghur-forced-labor-2025-01-14