By Tursun Uyghur
Chinese propaganda outlet Xinjiang Daily reported from the Autonomous Region Market Supervision Administration that “there are currently 2.476 million registered business entities in Xinjiang, including 266,700 in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, representing a 7.75% increase compared to the previous year. Among them, there are 548,300 enterprises, showing a 10.41% year-on-year increase, and 1.8816 million individual businesses, reflecting a 7.25% year-on-year rise. “
However, the Chinese government’s report on “Xinjiang”‘s thriving business sector did not mention the ethnicity of the registered business owners.
It has been widely reported that Uyghur business leaders in the region have encountered significant challenges, with many being arrested and their properties seized by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Prominent Uyghur business leaders were reportedly detained in the region starting early in 2015. In a detailed report by Uyghur Hjelp citing the detention of nearly 5000 Uyghur businessmen, a figure also reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Radio Free Asia reported in 2021 on the arrest of Uyghur billionaire Iminjan Rahmitulla, known for his development of major shopping bazaars and markets in Central Asia. His arrest was purportedly justified by the CCP as a measure to control his influence before it became uncontrollable.
Another report by the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), a Washington-based Uyghur human rights research group, detailed how the CCP seized Uyghur-owned properties and auctioned them online.
Of particular importance is the fact that while the Chinese government arrested Uyghur business leaders and seized their properties, they also sent and forced those Uyghur millionaires, among millions of other Uyghurs, to Chinese factories to work under harsh labor conditions without any freedom, effectively as slaves.
