Pearls and Irritations

Let me directly address the narrative pushed by the United States and its allies regarding the alleged “genocide” of Uighurs in China’s Xinjiang province. This narrative is not only riddled with inconsistencies but reeks of the same imperialist strategies the U.S. has employed for decades to destabilise dozens of nations and advance its own geopolitical ambitions.

The U.S. has an history of engineering coups, supporting dictators, and funding insurgencies to serve its interests that has been amply proven by many whistle-blowers and by investigative organisations like Wikileaks. Over the last seventy years, the CIA and its proxy, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), have been instrumental in subverting and overturning governments the bulk of whom were democratically elected, and propping up oppressive regimes worldwide. From Korea, Vietnam, and Iran to Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Cuba, Venezuela, and Taiwan, the list of U.S. interventions is staggering. The same methods have also been applied across Africa and Asia, leaving a trail of poverty, misery, exploitation and failed states in their wake.

Eastern Europe and major powers like the Soviet Union and China have not been immune to U.S. interference. Post-1949, after China’s Communist revolution, Washington lamented that it had “lost” China—a country it never had control over. This loss spurred an unrelenting campaign to undermine China’s sovereignty. One of the key tactics has been fostering instability within China’s borders, particularly in its Xinjiang province.

Xinjiang, home to the Uighur ethnic minority, became a focal point for U.S. interference. The CIA and later the NED cultivated and funded violent extremist groups among Uighur separatists, aiming to fracture China and carve out a fundamentalist Islamic state in the region. These groups carried out acts of terror targeting other Uighurs and Han Chinese civilians, including bombings and mass killings. Thousands of men, women, and children have been brutally murdered by these groups.

The poverty and underdevelopment that plagued much of China before its economic reforms in 1978 made Xinjiang an easy target for external manipulation. The Uighur separatist groups, similar to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, were pawns in the U.S. strategy. But as history has shown, when these groups outgrow their usefulness, they are violently discarded. The CIA refers to such terminations as “extreme prejudice,” a cold euphemism for state-sanctioned mass extermination.

Barack Obama’s presidency epitomised this ruthless policy. Every Tuesday, the former president presided over meetings where targets for drone strikes were selected. These strikes, aimed at eliminating “terrorists,” often killed innocent civilians. Pentagon estimates revealed that for every militant killed, nine innocent lives were lost—men, women, and children. In stark contrast to the U.S.’s “kill list” approach, China opted for a path of development and rehabilitation. Recognising the socio-economic challenges in Xinjiang, the Chinese government launched extensive programs to uplift the region’s population. Billions of dollars were invested in infrastructure, education, and job creation. Vocational training centres were established to equip Uighurs with skills for stable employment, providing a viable and attractive alternative to the Manichean allure of extremism.

The results of these policies are irrefutable. Xinjiang’s Uighur population grew from 8.34 million in 2000 to 11.62 million in 2020—a growth rate far exceeding the national average for ethnic minorities. Claims of forced sterilisation and population control crumble in the face of such data. Even during the era of China’s one-child policy, Uighurs and other minorities were exempt, further debunking allegations of systemic oppression. Education metrics in Xinjiang also paint a starkly different picture from Western propaganda. The percentage of Uighurs with university education skyrocketed, and the average years of schooling for those over 15 rose significantly. These figures underscore China’s commitment to uplifting its minority populations, not eradicating them.

The U.S., with its staggering incarceration rate of 541 per 100,000 people—nearly five times China’s rate of 119 per 100,000—is in no position to lecture on human rights. The notion that “millions of Uighurs” are detained in concentration camps is a fabrication designed to vilify China. The narrative of “concentration camps” in Xinjiang finds its roots in the propaganda of Adrian Zenz, a far-right Christian fundamentalist. Zenz, who openly admits his mission is divinely inspired to destroy the Chinese Communist Party, has visited Xinjiang only once, in 2007. His claims rely on dubious sources and are amplified by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank funded by Western defence contractors and governments.

Zenz’s allegations include outlandish claims such as the demolition of 16,000 mosques in Xinjiang and a ban on the practice of Islam. The reality is starkly different. Xinjiang remains home to thousands of mosques, as observed by the millions of domestic and international tourists visiting them annually. In 2019, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation even commended China for its care of Muslim citizens, further discrediting Zenz’s claims.

The so-called evidence of Uighur persecution is largely supplied by groups like the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a recognised terrorist organisation. These groups, with a vested interest in destabilising China, have been instrumental in fabricating stories that the Western media uncritically echoes. The Western press, rather than investigating these claims, acts as a mouthpiece for its governments, perpetuating a Western propaganda narrative. It is particularly galling that the U.S., a nation with a bloody history of genocide and systemic racism, dares to lecture others. From the genocidal ethnic cleansing of Native Americans to the vast transatlantic slave trade, America’s track record is steeped in atrocities. Its overseas interventions, from Vietnam to Iraq, have resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of civilian men women a children. Yet, the U.S. presents itself as the moral authority on human rights, whilst being drenched in the blood of innocents.

The mainstream Western media serves as an echo chamber for these hypocritical narratives. By distorting the reality of Xinjiang, it perpetuates a “hall of mirrors,” projecting the West’s own sins onto its geopolitical rivals. The Uighur genocide narrative is not about human rights—it is a weapon in the U.S.’s arsenal to undermine China’s rise. Were it’s concerns about Muslims in China to be sincere it contrasts with their slaughter of so many Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen and Iran. The allegations of a Uighur genocide are a meticulously crafted myth designed to serve Western geopolitical interests. The data, the context, and the evidence overwhelmingly disprove these claims. While the U.S. and its allies continue their propaganda campaign, it is vital to critically examine their motives and question the narratives they peddle. The true “genocide” is not happening in Xinjiang—it lies in the relentless attempts to weaponise human rights as a tool of imperialism.

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