Xinjiang conflict
Geopolitical conflict in Central Asia
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We include updates on Persecution of Uyghurs in China, 2014 Kunming attack, East Turkestan, July 2009 Ürümqi riots, Chen Quanguo, 1992 Ürümqi bombings, 1997 Ürümqi bus bombings, 2008 Uyghur unrest, 2008 Kashgar attack, Ghulja incident, Shaoguan incident, 2010 Aksu bombing, 2011 Hotan attack, 2011 Kashgar attacks, Pishan hostage crisis, 1989 Ürümqi unrest ... and more.
| August 2022 | Bachelet released a report concluding that the detention of Uyghurs and Muslim minorities in Xinjiang since 2017 may constitute international crimes, particularly crimes against humanity. |
| June 2022 | Michelle Bachelet announced her resignation as UN human rights chief following criticism from Uyghur organizations. |
| May 2022 | UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet met with Xinjiang officials to discuss concerns about counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures. |
| 2021 |
Xinjiang internment camps
Chen Quanguo's leadership of internment camp operations ends after overseeing the detention of hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.
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| 2021 | Shirzat Bawudun (former head of Xinjiang justice department) and Sattar Sawut (former head of Xinjiang education department) were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on separatism and bribery charges. Three other educators were simultaneously sentenced to life in prison. |
| 2021 | Amnesty International released a 160-page report documenting human rights violations in Xinjiang, including extensive biometric data collection and surveillance of Uyghurs. PBS Frontline estimated nearly two million Uyghurs detained across over 12,000 camps. |
| October 2020 | The U.S. State Department lifted the terrorist organization designation for the group. |
| September 2020 |
Xinjiang internment camps
Australian Strategic Policy Institute reports that construction of internment camps continues, despite government claims of winding down operations.
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| July 2020 | A group of 45 nations issued a competing letter defending China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. |
| June 2020 | At the 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council, 39 countries condemned China's treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. |
| June 17 2020 | President Donald Trump signed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act into law, enabling potential sanctions against Xinjiang Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo under the Global Magnitsky Act. |
| 2019 | Xinjiang birth rates continued to decline, falling nearly 24% compared to a nationwide decline of only 4.2%. |
| December 2019 | United States House of Representatives passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, further advancing legislative action against human rights violations in Xinjiang. |
| December 2019 | A second documentary about the Xinjiang conflict and internment camps was broadcast by Chinese state media, again provoking varied responses on Chinese social media. |
| October 2019 | 23 countries issued a joint statement at the UN urging China to respect human rights and uphold its national and international obligations. |
| September 2019 | United States Senate passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, addressing human rights concerns in Xinjiang. |
| July 2019 | 22 countries issued a joint letter to the UN Human Rights Council condemning China's mass detention of Uyghurs and other minorities, calling for China to refrain from arbitrary detention and movement restrictions. |
| 2018 |
Xinjiang internment camps
State Ethnic Affairs Commission and State Administration for Religious Affairs were placed under the CCP's United Front Work Department, accelerating the 'Sinicization' of ethnic and religious minorities.
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| 2018 |
Jingwang Weishi
A research team of analysts conducted a thorough technical report investigating the Jingwang Weishi application and its functionalities, revealing its data collection and scanning mechanisms.
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| 2018 | Chinese officials acknowledged a nearly one-third drop in birth rates in Xinjiang, though they denied reports of forced sterilization. |
| October 2018 | Chinese state media aired a documentary about the Xinjiang conflict and internment camps, which generated mixed reactions on Chinese social media platforms. |
| 2017 |
Xinjiang internment camps
Xinjiang internment camps are established under the administration of CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, marking the beginning of large-scale detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.
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| 2017 | Standard rural birth limits were applied to Uyghurs, restricting their allowed births to the same standard as Han Chinese. |
| 2017 | Overseas Uyghur activists reported intensified restrictions, including heavy fines for refusing to eat during Ramadan, detention of Uyghurs returning from Mecca, banning of Muslim names, and the 'Pair Up and Become Family' program where Han officials were assigned to live in homes of interned Uyghurs. |
| February 14 2017 | Three knife-wielding attackers killed five people before being killed by police. |
| 2016 |
Xinjiang internment camps
Local authorities recruited over 90,000 police officers - twice the number of the previous seven years - and established approximately 7,300 heavily guarded checkpoints across the region.
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| 2016 | Han Chinese family planning limits were increased from two to three children, which subsequently impacted ethnic minority family planning policies. |
| 2016 | Uyghurs faced severe movement restrictions within Xinjiang, with residents living in fenced-off neighborhoods with checkpoint entrances and apartments marked with QR codes for police surveillance. |
| August 2016 |
Xinjiang internment camps
Chen Quanguo, a hardline Communist Party secretary previously from Tibet, took charge of the Xinjiang autonomous region, significantly intensifying surveillance and control.
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| August 30 2016 | A suicide bombing occurred at Kyrgyzstan's Chinese embassy by a Uyghur, with the suicide bomber being the only fatality. |
| 2015 | Birth rates in predominantly Uyghur regions of Hotan and Kashgar began to dramatically decline, dropping by more than 60% by 2018. |
| September 18 2015 | In Aksu, an unidentified group of knife-wielding terrorists attacked a coal mine, killing up to 50 sleeping workers before fleeing. The Turkistan Islamic Party claimed responsibility. |
| 2014 |
Xinjiang internment camps
Chinese government announces a 'people's war on terror' policy, which later becomes the basis for establishing internment camps for Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.
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| 2014 |
Xinjiang internment camps
Chinese authorities announced a 'people's war on terror' and introduced new restrictions, including bans on long beards and burqas in public.
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| 2014 | Chinese government launched the Strike Hard Campaign Against Violent Terrorism in Xinjiang, initiating a policy that led to mass detention of Muslims, primarily Uyghurs, in secretive detention camps without legal process. |
| 2014 | Kunming attack occurred, further intensifying the conflict. |
| July 28 2014 | A gang armed with knives and axes killed 37 civilians in Shache County towns of Elixku and Huangdi. 59 attackers were killed by security forces, and 215 attackers were arrested. |
| May 2014 | Another Ürümqi attack happened, continuing the pattern of regional violence. |
| May 22 2014 | Two suicide car bombings in an Ürümqi street market killed 43 people and injured more than 90. |
| April 2014 | Ürümqi attack took place, adding to the series of violent incidents in the region. |
| April 18 2014 | A group of 16 Chinese Uyghurs engaged in a shootout with Vietnamese border guards, resulting in five Uyghurs and two Vietnamese guards dying. |
| March 1 2014 | A knife-wielding terrorist attack at Kunming Railway Station killed 31 and injured 141. Over 380 people were arrested in the subsequent crackdown. |
| January 2014 | Eleven Uighur militants were killed by Kyrgyz security forces. |
| 2013 |
Xinjiang internment camps
Belt and Road Initiative was announced, with Xinjiang positioned at its strategic core.
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| June 26 2013 | Riots in Shanshan left 35 dead, including 22 civilians, 11 rioters, and 2 police officers. |
| April 24 2013 | Clashes in Bachu between armed men and social workers/police near Kashgar resulted in at least 21 deaths, including 15 police and officials. |
| 2012 |
Xinjiang internment camps
Zhang Chunxian first mentioned 'de-extremification' campaigns and started to 're-educate' religious leaders and perceived extremists.
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| February 28 2012 | An attack in Yecheng left 20 people dead, including seven attackers. |
| 2011 |
Xinjiang internment camps
Zhang Chunxian proposed 'modern culture leads the development in Xinjiang' as his policy statement and began implementing modern culture propaganda.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Xinjiang internment camps, Jingwang Weishi & Xinjiang conflict, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.