An exposé of Chinese documents has cast light on the manner in which China is using technology to monitor and maintain control over its Xinjiang region.
The so-called China Cables, obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, contain details of the Chinese authorities’ repressive measures against the ethnic Uighur population. China has long been concerned about Islamist radicalism and separatism.
China has attracted global attention owing to the mass internment of Uighurs. The cables highlight the methods used to achieve this.
The documents prescribe the management of detention facilities, with elaborate instructions such as these: ‘Strictly manage door locks and keys – dormitory doors, corridor doors and floor doors must be double-locked, and must be locked immediately after being opened and closed. Strictly manage and control student activities to prevent escapes during class, eating periods, toilet breaks, bath time, medical treatment, family visits etc. Strictly manage students requesting time off; if they really need to leave the training centre due to illness or other special circumstances, they must have someone specially to accompany, monitor and control them.’
In the broader society, a system called the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP) aggregates data on the population using numerous ‘flags’. This includes information sourced from checkpoints, closed-circuit cameras, spyware on mobile phones and ‘Wifi-sniffers’. One app that has apparently been used for this purpose is Zapya, which was developed by a Chinese firm, and allows the sharing of Islamic religious content.
The documents also detail the imperative of monitoring Uighurs who hold dual citizenship, live abroad, or attempt to make foreign contacts
With as many as a million people having at some point been interned, this has been described as one of the largest such programmes inflicted on a civilian population since the Second World War. The destruction of Uighur identity has reportedly been a central objective.
The Chinese government has claimed that the programme is aimed at imparting skills and developing the region. It described the documents as ‘pure fabrication’.