cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/1625376

“It is a dictatorial policy”: A former detainee in China’s Xinjiang region on her time in prison and Chinese politics

Gulzira Auelhan, a member of a minority group, spent 15 months in a prison in China’s Xinjiang region. She was released after her husband and international organizations worked for her rescue. She now lives in the U.S.

Ms. Auelhan speaks about her experience as a prisoner.

Gulzira Auelhan: In the morning, the police and teachers take us from the dormitory to the classroom. In the classroom, we sing songs and, before meals, we sing “Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China.” The class content is to study Xi Jinping’s thoughts and party policies. We have 14 hours of political classes daily, with two bathroom breaks. If anyone returns late, the police hit them on the head with electric batons […]

We also have to write reflections, confessions, and thank-you letters to the Party, along with future plans and thoughts. Each essay must be about four pages long. Since my Chinese is not good, I wrote in Kazakh, and the teacher translated it. Every student reads their essay aloud […]

If anyone sings [the song, "Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China”] wrong, they are scolded […]

[The police] physically check phones. In Xinjiang, there is a requirement to report to the police if someone visits your home. If the police find VPNs on visitors’ phones, they detain them […]

There was a woman […] in the reeducation center. She was detained for wanting to build a bigger house for her son’s wedding, which the local government considered a complaint. She was paralyzed and in a wheelchair, and I helped her with chores. We formed a close bond […]

When we first arrived at the reeducation center, 22 women were taken to a women’s and children’s hospital for a full-body examination, including a genital examination. After returning to the reeducation center, we were told we had to get a flu shot after three months due to the risk of spreading diseases. It cost 250 yuan, but I’m unsure if our families or the government paid. We were forced to get the shot; otherwise, we would be transferred to another reeducation center. After the injection, women stopped menstruating and experienced memory loss […]

After my release, I could contact my husband via WeChat. He urged me to quickly get a passport and leave the country. I was told by officials to lie about losing my passport or being ill for 15 months. I managed to get documents and proof with difficulty before finally leaving for Kazakhstan […]

My eldest daughter was also detained in 2017 because her passport expired. I only met her after my release.[…]

After my release in October 2018, I wanted to see [my fahter, who lives in Xinjiang], but I was under surveillance. From October 14-17, 2018, Secretary Song forced me to sign a contract to work in a black factory. He assigned me to a glove factory, demanding three months of work for 600 yuan a month before I could return to Kazakhstan. I occasionally returned home but faced restrictions […]

[In the textile factory in Ili Prefecture where I was forced to work] we were under surveillance, transported by bus from the dormitory to the factory at 4 am Beijing time. We had a few minutes to eat before an hour-long study of Party policies. I had some freedom to use the bathroom, unlike in the classroom. We could use our phones and had Wi-Fi in the factory. We went home on weekends […]

China has 56 ethnic groups, and it is impossible to categorize them as good or bad. During Deng Xiaoping’s era, the ethnic policies were somewhat better. My grandfather told me that when he was 11 years old during Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, he burned the Quran. Now, the Quran is being used as toilet paper again; history is repeating itself. But I will not blame the Han Chinese people for this. It is a dictatorial policy, formerly Mao Zedong’s dictatorship and now Xi Jinping’s. I hope we can strengthen cooperation regardless of ethnicity or region […]

I have testified before, including on forced labor issues, and have been working hard to push for legislation against forced labor. I have met with members of [U.S.] Congress. Occasionally, I see products from China in American stores, and it makes me sad. I worry these products might come from forced labor factories, possibly made with others’ tears. I hope Western countries and the international community prioritize human rights over economic interests […]

A pair of gloves costs ten cents to make in China but sells for 250 yuan abroad. We need stricter policies to sanction these products from China. I hope to shut down these forced labor factories and inhumane prisons, and I want everyone, regardless of ethnicity or region, to be freed […]

Before coming to the U.S., I thought there were no Chinese products, but I found cheap Chinese goods everywhere after arriving. I worry these goods are from forced labor and need to be sanctioned. I also learned that people use the Temu app to order products, but this is a Chinese-made app, and using similar Chinese apps poses privacy risks, like TikTok. Lastly, I discovered that Xinjiang people in the U.S. tend to use Chinese goods, which is a bad trend.