How many Uighurs are there in Xinjiang?
12 million
Official figures released by Chinese authorities place the Uyghur population within the Xinjiang region to be just over 12 million, comprising approximately half of the total regional population.
What is happening in Xinjiang China?
Since 2017, reports have emerged of people being detained in extrajudicial “re-education camps”, subject to political indoctrination and alleged instances of forced abortion, compulsory sterilization, rape, and torture. 2018 estimates allege the number of detainees in the hundreds of thousands.
Where are the Uyghurs located?
northwestern China
Uyghurs live for the most part in northwestern China, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; a small number live in the Central Asian republics. There were some 10,000,000 Uyghurs in China and a combined total of at least 300,000 in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan in the early 21st century.
Is Xinjiang occupied?
In the 18th century, the area was conquered by the Chinese Qing dynasty. In 1884, after the Dungan Revolt (1862–77), the area was renamed Xinjiang. It is now a part of the People’s Republic of China.
Who are the Uyghurs living in China’s Xinjiang?
China denies all allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, claiming its system of “re-education” camps are there to combat separatism and Islamist militancy in the region. Who are the Uyghurs? There are about 12 million Uyghurs, mostly Muslim, living in Xinjiang, which is officially known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
What is Xinjiang and why is it controversial?
Xinjiang is home to 12 million ethnic minority Uyghurs, most of whom are Muslim. Citizens in the province are under daily surveillance. The area is also home to highly controversial “re-education centres”, called high security detention camps by human rights groups, where it is estimated that more than a million people have been held.
What are the human rights violations in China’s Xinjiang region?
China denies all allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang. It said it 2019 that it had released everyone from its “re-education” camp system, though testimony from the region suggests many are still detained and many were transferred from camps to formal prisons.
What is the Uyghur region?
Xinjiang, officially named the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is a remote region in China’s far west. It is home to about 11 million Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority that speak a language closely related to Turkish and have their own distinct culture.