President Jinping promised to wipe out corruption, but at the same time has tightened up on ‘freedom of speech.’ Shortly after his appointment, a terrorist attack in Tiananmen square by separatists Uighurs from Xinjiang province tested his resolve. Jinping made it clear that the province was part of China and after a second terrorist attack, he ordered an offensive against the Uighurs. The Chinese public is heavily monitored by secret police and other agencies. But nowhere in the world, including North Korea, is the population overseen as strictly as it is in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
The situation in this province is regularly described by the international community as ‘cultural genocide’. Mosques are not welcome; the traditional language and religion are not accepted and all traces of Uighur independence are obliterated. What is happening is extreme, but not unique. The same approach underlies the ‘reunification’ plans aimed at Taiwan, Tibet, and Hong Kong. Bringing these areas to heel is a central part of Beijing’s plan. The intense attention to the Uighurs is replicated by the country’s attitude towards criminals. China’s domestic security agencies already employ an expansive network of surveillance tools to target tens of millions of people - many former prisoners, but also the mentally ill, government petitioners, and religious believers. The Chinese ‘WeChat message app’ is routinely monitored as the state maintains control.
While many areas of China remain poor and people face a
