The Economist May 21st 2022 39
ChinaHumanrightsinXinjiangNothing to see here
O
n the surface, much has changed in
the western region of Xinjiang since
Michelle Bachelet, the unHigh Commis
sioner for Human Rights, first proposed a
visit there in 2018. Many of the camps
where some 1m Uyghurs and other minor
ities were “reeducated” in 20172019 have
been dismantled. This does not mean the
situation has improved. Some camps have
been transformed into forced labour sites,
with the barbed wire taken down and new
signs declaring that they are factories. Sat
ellite imagery shows that new detention
camps have sprung up in remote moun
tains and deserts, out of sight and hard to
reach. Meanwhile, Xinjiang’s formal pri
son population has grown dramatically.
In cities, the soldiers and security
checks that conveyed a sense of crisis in
2018 are largely gone. Visiting foreign re
porters are still followed and harassed, es
pecially if they try to see demolished reli
gious sites or former camps. But in places
like Kashgar the minders keep a light
touch. They want foreigners to stroll
through the restored old city, visit the
night market and watch videos of youngUyghurs singing upbeat Mandarin songs.
That controlled version of Xinjiang is
what Ms Bachelet is likely to see when she
finally visits China this month, as her of
fice and the Chinese foreign ministry say
she will, the first humanrights chief to do
so since 2005. Chinese officials say that
she is welcome, but only on a “friendly”
visit aimed at “exchange and coopera
tion”, not an investigation. That is not the
kind of factfinding mission many had
hoped for. Critics recall a visit by World
Health Organisation experts to Wuhan in
early 2020. It was meant to investigate the
origins of the new virus, but China shifted
the focus to its pandemic response, and the
whowent along with it. Some fear Ms Ba
chelet may be similarly browbeaten. Last June more than 40 countries in the
unHuman Rights Council called for “un
fettered access” to Xinjiang. Activists say
that should include free access to deten
tion centres and relevant government doc
uments, freedom of movement, and unsu
pervised interviews. Since China will not
grant any of these things, more than 200
activist groups are now calling for the trip
to be postponed. That is unlikely. An ad
vance team has already quarantined for
several weeks in Guangzhou.
In Beijing, Western diplomats expect
that Ms Bachelet will be given the “Olympic
bubble” treatment, with covid used as an
excuse to isolate her from any uncon
trolled engagement. Radio Free Asia, an
American governmentfunded agency, has
reported that officials in Xinjiang are
warning Uyghurs not to speak with for
eigners. In Kashgar, police are reportedly
holding weekly political study sessions to
prepare for the unvisit. If asked about “re
education”, one police officer told rfa,
they should only say positive things about
how it leads to a “good and normal life”.
Western ambassadors have largely re
sisted invitations to visit Xinjiang, because
they do not want to be used for propagan
da. Some have said they would only visit if
they could meet with Ilham Tohti, perhaps
the most prominent imprisoned Uyghur
academic. China rejected such requests,
and those to meet Chen Quanguo, Xin
jiang’s former party secretary and chief ar
chitect of the camps. But many diplomats
from autocratic or poor countries like SuThe UN’s human-rights chief is about to visit Xinjiang. She will
be meticulously shielded from reality→Alsointhissection
40 CardinalZen’scardinal sin
41 Beijinglockdown?
41 Challengingultra-nationalism
42 Chaguan: A very political pandemic