China may have committed crimes “against humanity” because of China’s treatment of Muslim minorities including Uyghur in the northwest region of Xinjiang, according to a report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released on the last day of August 2022.
The report, released just minutes before the end of High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet’s term, said the “extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of Uyghur and other predominately Muslim groups … may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.” According to CNN.[1] The report accuses the Chinese government of “far-reaching, arbitrary and discriminatory restrictions on human rights and fundamental freedoms, in violation of international norms and standards.”[2]
Overall assessment of the report finds that “serious human rights violations have been committed” in the Xinjiang region, within the context of the Chinese government’s “application of counter-terrorism and counter-‘extremism’ strategies.” To prove what China did in Xinjiang, the OHCHR assessed various forms of documentation and other materials and conducted interviews with 40 people of Uyghur, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz ethnicities. According to CNN, twenty-six interviewees reported that they had been detained or had worked in various facilities in Xinjiang.[3]
“The described policies and practices in XUAR (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) have transcended borders, separating families and severing human contacts, while causing particular suffering to affected Uyghur, Kazakh, and other predominantly Muslim minority families, exacerbated by patterns of intimidations and threats against members of the diaspora community speaking publicly about experiences in XUAR,” the report states.[4]
The OHCHR also made several recommendations to the Chinese government, including releasing arbitrarily detained individuals and clarifying the whereabouts of missing individuals, and called for urgent attention by “United Nations intergovernmental bodies and human rights system, as well as the international community more broadly.”[5]
In its response to the document, Beijing said the report “distorts” China’s laws and policies. “All ethnic groups, including the Uygur, are equal members of the Chinese nation,” China’s response said. “Xinjiang has taken actions to fight terrorism and extremism in accordance by actively curbing the frequent occurrences of terrorist activities. At present, Xinjiang enjoys social stability, economic development, cultural prosperity, and religious harmony. People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are living a happy life in peace and contentment.” According to CNN.[6]
A Wednesday’s spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry reiterated Beijing’s staunch opposition to the report’s release during a daily press conference. “China has made clear its stern position on many occasions … The report is a pure stunt orchestrated by the US and a handful of other Western countries,” said China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Zhao Lijian.[7]
What will happen if China committed a crime?
China is projecting itself to become a global actor with its goals reflected in its Belt and Road Initiatives. China needs to strengthen its role as one of a handful of “globalized” foreign policy nations with world-spanning interests and the capacity to act on them.[8] Now, China’s presence surely can be perceived in most emerging countries in the world, from Asia to Africa through its nine-dash line map.
Brookings Foreign Policy Project “Global China: Assessing China’s Growing Role in the World” explores China’s efforts to expand its influence in different regions of the world with the diversity of methods China uses to advance its interests. However, they highlight China’s heavy reliance on economic governance as a first choice to squeeze profits and impose penalties on countries that oppose its interests or push back its agenda.[9] “Good image” is almost always needed to conduct cooperation, especially in economic cooperation between countries.
This accusation of human crimes certainly has an impact on China’s image which then has an impact on the success of its foreign policy. Image theory suggests that ideas about other actors in international affairs are organized into group schemas, or images, with well-defined cognitive elements.[10] Then the image of China as a “helper” and a donor of massive investment for “development” together can be destroyed.
Regardless of whether it is true or not, it is certain that China will not admit this because it affects many things and the image of a country is not an aspect that is easily ignored, especially with the aspiration to become a strong global player and defeat the United States and its ally.
[1] Simone McCarthy and Jorge Engels, “China may have committed ‘crimes against humanity’ in Xinjiang, UN report finds”, CNN, September 1, 2022, https://edition.cnn.com/2022/08/31/asia/un-xinjiang-china-bachelet-report-intl/index.html
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] “OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China”, United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commisioner, 31 Agustus 2022, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/2022-08-31/22-08-31-final-assesment.pdf
[5] Ibid.
[6] Op. Cit., McCarthy and Engels
[7] Ibid.
[8] Tarun Chhabra, et. al., “Report Global China: Regional Influence and Strategy”, July 2020, https://www.brookings.edu/research/global-china-regional-influence-and-strategy/
[9] Ibid.
[10] Dr. Dinmuhammed Ametbek, “Perception and Image Theory of International Relations”, Ankasam, July 24, 2017, https://www.ankasam.org/perception-and-image-theory-of-international-relations/?lang=en
