Their deaths in a fire triggered China’s biggest protests in generations, but few people seemed to know the victims were Uighur families torn apart by Beijing’s crackdown in Xinjiang.
On Nov. 24, 10 people died in an apartment block blaze in Urumqi, the northwestern region’s capital, with many around China blaming a grinding COVID-19 lockdown for scuppering rescue efforts.
The news unleashed long-simmering resentment over Beijing’s health curbs, setting off widespread demonstrations that helped tip the government into reversing its strict coronavirus measures.
Photo: AFP
For the protesters, those who died in the fire were martyrs of China’s “zero COVID” policy.
However, interviews with relatives of the victims show they felt the fire was only the latest tragedy to strike their community.
Abdulhafiz Maimaitimin, a Uighur who left China in 2016 and now lives in Switzerland, lost his aunt, Qemernisahan Abdurahman, and four of her young children in the fire. Her husband and son, along with Maimaitimin’s father, were arrested by Chinese authorities in 2016 and 2017.
Maimaitimin and his family believe they were spirited into a sprawling network of detention centers where China has been accused of detaining more than 1 million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities.
“My aunt waited several years for [her loved ones] to be released, but died without seeing them again,” 27-year-old Maimaitimin said.
After allegations by Washington and others of genocide, a UN report in August said that torture claims were credible and that the detentions might constitute crimes against humanity.
Beijing says the facilities are voluntary vocational schools designed to eliminate extremist thought.
The mainly Uighur area of Urumqi where the fire erupted appeared to have been under strict COVID-19 curbs since August.
“Perhaps if my aunt’s husband and son had been there, they could have used their strength to save them, but maybe not, since the door was locked from the outside,” Maimaitimin said.
Other residents and relatives of the deceased have made similar claims and alleged that lockdown barricades slowed the emergency response.
Authorities have denied the accusations.
Memmetli Abbas, a Uighur living in Turkey, said his daughter and granddaughter only escaped by alerting a local official who let them out.
However, the pair were later “questioned with regard to the fire”, he said. “I don’t know where they are.”
Abbas said his family’s grievances also predate the blaze. His oldest son has been in prison since 2017 after returning from a trip overseas, and his nephew was taken away to a camp the same year, he said.
“I don’t know why he’s being held, but I believe he’s there because he’s Uighur and he’s Muslim,” he said.
The deaths ignited fury in Urumqi and inspired action in other cities.
Notably, protesters in Shanghai gathered at Wulumuqi Road — named after Urumqi in Mandarin — as the wave of rallies peaked on the weekend of Nov. 26 and 27.
Silent vigils, calls for solidarity and anti-lockdown slogans expanded into demands for freedom of speech and even Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) resignation.
“We are all Xinjiang people,” demonstrators in Beijing chanted.
However, awareness of the victims’ ethnic background remained limited in a country where the government strictly controls the press and censors social media.
The protests were fueled largely by frustration over “zero COVID,” rather than solidarity with the Uighurs as such, experts said.
“It’s an attempt to avoid [a disaster] happening to them next, rather than an attempt to show ... empathy or understanding with Uighurs,” said David Tobin, a lecturer in East Asian Studies at the UK’s University of Sheffield.
The demonstrations did not appear to address the “racialized dimension” of health restrictions in Xinjiang, he said.
He cited an enhanced security presence, heavier-handed measures, and a lack of essential supplies in Uighur areas under “zero COVID” as examples of the even heavier tactics deployed there.
Meanwhile, years of persecution deterred ethnic minority citizens from joining the protests themselves, Turkey-based Uighur activist Jevlan Shirmemmet said.
“Why do you think no Uighurs took part in the Urumqi demonstrations?” he asked. “Because they can’t go out. They’re either too scared or ... they’ll be branded as terrorists if they do.”
China on Sunday hit back at the US for expanding military access in the Philippines, saying that Washington was trying to “encircle and contain” Beijing, and is “driving a wedge” between the two Asian nations. The Chinese embassy said the US was moving to “secure its hegemony and selfish geopolitical interests.” Involving the Philippines “will seriously harm” the nation’s interest and endanger regional peace and stability, the embassy said in a statement responding to a recent interview with the US ambassador in Manila. The Philippines last month gave the US access to four more military bases under the countries’ Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement,
Less than two months ago, the first music video by South Korean girl quartet MAVE: went viral, racking up nearly 20 million views on YouTube and setting the stage for potential global success. At first glance, MAVE: looks like any other idolized K-pop band — except it only exists virtually. Its four members — Siu, Zena, Tyra and Marty — live in the metaverse, their songs, dances, interviews and even their hairstyles created by Web designers and artificial intelligence. “When I first saw MAVE:, it was a little confusing to tell whether they were humans or virtual characters,” said Han Su-min, a 19-year-old
Philippine vlogger Rosanel Demasudlay holds a heart-shaped “virginity soap” bar in front of the camera and assures her hundreds of YouTube followers that it can be safely used to “tighten” their vaginas. The video is part of a barrage of bogus and harmful medical posts on social media platforms where Filipinos rank among the world’s heaviest users. Even before COVID-19 pandemic restrictions confined people to their homes and left them fearful of seeing a doctor, many in the Philippines sought remedies online because they were cheaper and easier to access. During the pandemic, the Agence France-Presse’s (AFP) Fact Check team saw an explosion
‘JAW-DROPPING MOMENT’: Michelle Yeoh in her Oscars speech dedicated her award to her mother and said ‘all the moms in the world’ were the real superheroes Michelle Yeoh’s mother cried for joy for her “little princess” when the Malaysian performer became the first Asian to win the best actress Oscar. Yeoh’s family and two Malaysian Cabinet ministers were among the supporters roaring with joy at Yeoh’s win during a special Academy Awards viewing party in Malaysia on Monday morning. Her trophy for her performance as a laundromat owner was one of seven Oscars for Everything Everywhere All at Once, including best picture. Janet Yeoh, 84, praised the actor as intelligent and hardworking, and a filial daughter. “I so love my daughter and she has made Malaysia proud,” Janet Yeoh
RSS