By Uyghur Times Staff
Dec. 15, 2024
Adrian Zenz’s latest research report, titled “Forced Labor, Coercive Land-Use Transfers, and Forced Assimilation in Xinjiang’s Agricultural Production,” uncovers mass land-grabbing and forced labor practices in the Uyghur region. The report highlights the exploitation of Uyghur peasants in the production of tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, and stevia, revealing a devastating trend of forced land transfers and coerced labor that renders thousands of Uyghurs landless.
Key Findings of the Report
The research reveals that The coercive transfer of agricultural land-use rights in the Uyghur region has become a significant mechanism for state-led land consolidation under the guise of agricultural modernization. While the PRC’s legal framework emphasizes that such transfers should be voluntary, in practice, the process often involves elements of coercion and manipulation. Peasants, who rely on their land as a vital livelihood resource, are pressured into transferring their land-use rights to larger entities such as cooperatives, agribusinesses, or government-backed collectives. This is achieved through mechanisms like shareholding models, where individual farming is prohibited, or administrative interventions that undermine legal protections. Official reports and academic studies further highlight the reluctance of Uyghur farmers to engage in land transfers, attributing this to their strong attachment to land as a source of economic security. Despite this, state policies frame such resistance as “backward” or “traditional” and push for the transformation of these attitudes, often at the expense of peasants’ rights. These transfers, therefore, not only disrupt livelihoods but also erode the autonomy and cultural ties of Uyghur farmers to their land.
The report implicates major Chinese agribusinesses responsible for over 50% of China’s tomato production and 65% of the world’s red pepper pigment production. These include companies tied to the planting, harvesting, and processing of key crops:
- Tomatoes: The Uyghur region produces 15% of the world’s tomato paste.
- Chili Peppers and Paprika Oleoresin: The Uyghur region accounts for 10% of the world’s chili peppers and two-thirds of paprika oleoresin, used widely in food coloring and cosmetics.
- Stevia: The region produces a growing share of the world’s natural sweetener.
The research documents how local Uyghur peasants are pressured into surrendering their land-use rights to large Chinese agribusinesses. These companies then force the displaced farmers into wage labor, often in processing facilities controlled by the same agribusinesses. Between 2001 and 2021, land-use transfers in the Uyghur region grew nearly 50-fold, signifying the massive scale of this operation.
Impact on Uyghur Communities
The report outlines how these practices profoundly disrupt Uyghur livelihoods and communities. The dismantling of organic, self-sustaining villages is part of Beijing’s broader strategy to assimilate, surveil, and control Uyghur populations. This forced assimilation is enforced through political indoctrination and coercion, leading to the erosion of Uyghur culture and autonomy.
Global Supply Chain Implications
The investigation links 90 international and Chinese companies to agricultural products from the Uyghur region, including well-known multinationals such as:
- Kraft Heinz
- Nestlé
- Del Monte
- PepsiCo
- McCormick
- Unilever
- L’Oréal
These companies are tied to the Uyghur region’s agricultural products through direct production, intermediaries, or general risk exposure. For instance, Kraft Heinz sources tomatoes from Uyghur region-based COFCO, with which it has a strategic partnership. Other companies, such as Del Monte, have claimed compliance with labor standards, but the report challenges the validity of such audits.
The Scale of Coercion
According to Zenz’s findings, the Uyghur region operates the world’s largest system of state-imposed forced labor, affecting up to 2.5 million Uyghurs and other ethnic groups. The Chinese government’s push for agricultural industrialization ensures that agribusinesses dominate, while Uyghur peasants are systematically stripped of their land and livelihoods.
Research Methods and Collaboration
This comprehensive 135-page report, co-authored with I-Lin Lin, includes 720 endnotes and leverages tools such as the Sayari database. It sheds light on the opaque nature of global supply chains, where products like tomatoes and peppers from the Uyghur region often enter international markets through intermediaries in other Asian countries, concealing their origins.
Implications for Accountability
The findings highlight the urgent need for global corporations to scrutinize their supply chains and sever ties with forced labor practices in the Uyghur region. Despite international attention, the report underscores that forced labor and coerced land transfers continue to taint the global production of key agricultural commodities.
As Beijing enforces dramatic agricultural industrialization alongside its campaign of mass internment, the report calls on governments, businesses, and civil society to act decisively against these abuses.
This report can be accessed in full through the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
