Frontline calls the cultural
genocide currently underway in East Turkestan “the largest mass incarceration
of an ethnic group since the Holocaust.” The severity and pervasiveness of the
CCP’s campaign against the Muslim Uyghurs they proceed to document justifies
such a chilling statement. The world has no shortage of crises right now
(again, thanks to the CCP), but the Chinese Communist government’s systematic
human rights abuses demand the public’s attention and outrage. Therefore, PBS
and Frontline deserve credit for producing and airing China
Undercover, filmed, directed, and co-produced by Robin Barnwell, which is
now available on the Frontline website and the PBS app.
Access
to East Turkestan is tightly controlled by the Party, especially for foreigners
and independent journalists. However, Barnwell and his colleagues were able to
recruit an ethnic Han Chinese businessman living in Southeast Asia to be their
secret eyes and ears in the locked-down region. Thanks to his Han heritage, the
man they dub “Li” had much greater freedom of movement than native Uyghur
citizens. Indeed, we see him cruise through security checkpoints that stop and invasively
search Uyghurs and ethnic Kazakhs (who have it just as badly in East Turkestan).
Probably
two million Muslims are imprisoned in re-education camps, judging from satellite
photos of the massive detention centers. Also judging from satellite intel, it
appears numerous mosques have been razed into rubble. However, it is hard for Uyghurs
and Kazakhs to speak openly, because of the CCP’s Orwellian surveillance apparatus.
It is so finely tuned, residents must speak in code over phone lines, because
certain words and phrases will automatically alert the authorities. If someone
is sent to the camps, they are said to be “studying” instead.
Barnwell
and “Li” literally depict Hell on Earth. Just when you think it can’t possibly
get any worse, they expose another layer of oppression (like the intrusive
quartering of Han Chinese snitches in Muslim homes, which have unique scannable bar-codes affixed to their doors). Any person of good
conscience must conclude the CCP is orchestrating large-scale, genocidal crimes
against humanity—specifically Muslims. Yet, the Islamist governments of the Middle
East and hyper-sensitive Muslim interest groups in the West have remained
deathly silent. Anyone who has ever criticized Israel for anything is a craven hypocrite
if they do not vehemently denounce the CCP’s orchestrated campaign against the
local cultures and Muslim faith of East Turkestan.
At
least Frontline has exposed Communist
China’s crimes for the world to see. This is outstanding journalism, produced at
great risk to the lives and liberty of Li, Barnwell, and their fixers. The producers
even approached the CCP for comment, receiving a few dissembling written
statements for their efforts. China
Undercover also warns the world
that the CCP is looking to expand the implementation of these oppressive
tactics to other regions. (The only mild criticism we can offer is their usage
of the Chinese term “Xinjiang” for the region natives refer to as East
Turkestan.) Urgently recommended for anyone professing any concern for human
rights, Frontline’s China
Undercover is now available online
and on the PBS app.
