The Xinjiang Data Project is a
China-focused Australian research project created and managed by the
Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). The project states that it has identified grave human rights violations in
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
, including the mass detention of minorities, and
compulsory sterilizations. The researchers found that one out of every three
mosques have been demolished in Xinjiang since 2017.
Launch and funding
The ASPI launched the Xinjiang Data Project in September 2020 as a part of its International Cyber Policy Centre. According to the project's website, initial funding for the project came from the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
.
Publication of information from Xinjiang
According to the project, satellite data has allowed it to locate "380 suspected detention facilities" in Xinjiang, and to estimate that 35 % of mosques in the region have been demolished, including a pilgrimage town,
Ordam Mazar. The project says that it has also used interviews from former inmates to collect information. The project has promoted research by
Adrian Zenz
Adrian Nikolaus Zenz (born 1974) is a German anthropologist known for his studies of the Xinjiang internment camps (also known as "re-education" camps) and Uyghur genocide. He is a senior fellow in China studies at the Victims of Communism Mem ...
, a senior fellow at the
Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) is a non-profit anti-communist organization in the United States, authorized by a unanimous Act of Congress in 1993 for the purpose of "educating Americans about the ideology, history and legacy ...
, who says that China has embarked on a program of mass sterilization in Xinjiang.
According to the researchers, development in the region is being used as a "facade for cultural erasure and desecration of religious sites."
The Chinese government has responded that the camps are vocational training and re-education programs meant to alleviate poverty and counter terrorism.
See also
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2020s in political history
2020s political history refers to significant political and societal historical events of the 2020s, presented as a historical overview in narrative format.
Chronological
2020
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as th ...
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Human rights in China
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Australia–China relations
Consular relations between China and Australia were first established in 1909, and diplomatic relations were established in 1941. Australia continued to recognise the Republic of China (ROC) government after it lost the Chinese Civil War and retr ...
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Australia–United States relations
Australia and the United States are close allies, maintaining a robust relationship underpinned by shared democratic values, common interests, and cultural affinities. Economic, academic, and people-to-people ties are vibrant and strong. At the ...
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China–United States relations
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Australia-Taiwan relations
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Xinjiang Victims Database
Citations
References cited
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External links
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Australian defence policies
2020 establishments in Australia
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