Image by Mohamed Hassan / Pixabay
By Anne Kader
To combat outbreaks of COVID-19 in ‘Xinjiang’ (the occupied East Turkistan) Chinese authorities are planning to use similar methods as they have used to quell dissent against authorities, Japan Times reports.
That would include broad surveillance measures to enforce lockdown rules to ensure there will be no public displays of anger like those seen during the extended Shanghai lockdown.
The Western region of ‘Xinjiang’ (East Turkistan) reported 344 local cases for Sunday, down from 398 the day before.
At least five cities and two counties in the Uyghurs’ homeland imposed restrictions as of Sunday, with most of Urumqi keeping residents locked in their homes. During a previous lockdown, users on the social media platform Weibo found that it quickly censors posts with a ‘Xinjiang’ hashtag.
East Turkistan has been a scene of human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups since 1949 when China occupied the land. China aims to assimilate Uyghur and other groups into a society dominated by ethnic Han Chinese (90% of the population).